r 


Early  Western  Travels 
i 748 -i 846 


Volume  IX 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2007  with  funding  from 

Microsoft  Corporation 


http://www.archive.org/details/flintslettersfroOOflinrich 


Early  Western  Travels 

1748-1846 

A  Series  of  Annotated  Reprints  of  some  of  the  best 
and  rarest  contemporary  volumes  of  travel,  de- 
scriptive of  the  Aborigines  and  Social  and 
Economic  Conditions  in  the  Middle 
and  far  West,  during  the  Period 
of  Early  American  Settlement 

Edited  with  Notes,  Introductions,  Index,  etc.,  by 

Reuben  Gold  Thwaites,  LL.D. 

Editor  of  "The  Jesuit  Relations  and  Allied  Documents,"   "Original 

Journals  of  the  Lewis  and  Clark  Expedition,"  "Hennepin's 

New  Discovery,"  etc. 

Volume  IX 
Flint's  Letters  from  America,  18 18- 1820 


Cleveland,  Ohio 

The  Arthur  H.  Clark  Company 
1904 


Copyright  1904,  by 
THE  ARTHUR  H.  CLARK  COMPANY 


ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


fffjt  fLakestot  $na» 

R.  R.  DONNELLEY  &  SONS  COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


Bancroft  Libr&.-y 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  IX 

Preface.    The  Editor 9 

Letters  from  America,  containing  Observations  on  the 
Climate  and  Agriculture  of  the  Western  States,  the  Man- 
ners of  the  People,  the  Prospects  of  Emigrants,  &c,  &c. 
James  Flint 

Dedication  .......         19 

Author's  Table  of  Contents 21 

Text 25 


ILLUSTRATIONS  TO   VOLUME  IX 

Facsimile  of  original  title-page 17 

Wooden  fence  (text  cut) 40 

Horse  rake  (text  cut) 41 

Buck  saw  (text  cut) 61 

Cradle  scythe  (text  cut) 125 

Island  in  the  Ohio  (text  cut) 159 

Typical  township  map  (text  cut) 177 

Typical  subdivision  of  a  township  (text  cut)  .         .         .178 


PREFACE  TO  VOLUME  IX 

Had  all  the  travellers  from  Great  Britain  who  visited 
America  during  the  early  decades  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury been  of  so  discriminating  a  temperament  as  the 
Scotchman  whose  work  we  republish  as  volume  ix  of  our 
series,  Americans  might  have  lacked  that  sensitiveness 
that  arose  from  unjust  and  flippant  portrayal  and  criti- 
cism of  American  manners. 

James  Flint  was  of  a  good  family,  had  been  carefully 
educated,  and  possessed  a  sound  and  just  judgment,  with 
capacity  for  philosophic  insight.  Coming  to  the  United 
States  to  observe  conditions,  he  depicts  them  with  candor 
and  good  will.  While  confessing  favorable  preconcep- 
tions, due  to  a  personal  liking  for  democratic  institutions, 
our  author  does  not  omit  the  shadows  in  his  pictures;  but 
he  presents  them  with  such  dispassionate  fairness  that 
the  sting  of  criticism  is  removed. 

Flint  was  particularly  interested  in  the  Middle  West. 
Therefore,  after  a  brief  sojourn  in  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, where  he  commented  judiciously  on  all  that  made 
for  the  higher  life  of  these  two  young  cities,  he  followed  the 
great  Western  thoroughfare  which  crossed  Pennsylvania 
to  Pittsburg,  then  the  gateway  of  trans- Allegheny  America. 
Here  he  purchased  a  skiff  and  floated  down  the  Ohio, 
occasionally  landing  to  make  visits  and  observations;  from 
Portsmouth  he  proceeded  on  a  circuit  through  Ohio  and 
Kentucky,  settling  at  length  at  the  falls  of  Ohio,  in  the 
Indiana  town  of  Jeffersonville. 

A  resident  at  this  place  for  several  months,  his  investi- 


i  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

gation  of  Western  conditions  assumed  a  new  phase.  No 
longer  the  passing  traveller,  noting  the  novelties  and  pecu- 
liarities of  the  people,  Flint  began  a  systematic  obser- 
vation of  American  institutions  in  general,  and  particu- 
larly the  political,  social,  and  economic  life  of  the  Middle 
West.  In  his  succinct  but  comprehensive  study  of  the 
national  constitution  and  local  state  governments,  he 
anticipates  De  Tocqueville  and  Bryce.  His  comments 
upon  the  judicial  system  show  an  appreciation  of  the  stern 
necessities  of  primitive  justice,  coupled  with  the  law-abid- 
ing spirit  characteristic  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race.  His 
notes  upon  the  power  of  public  opinion  as  a  restraining 
force  in  political  life,  and  upon  the  universal  veneration  for 
the  constitution,  show  that  he  discovered  the  fundamental 
principles  underlying  American  political  life.  His  com- 
prehension of  the  historical  development  of  the  West  is 
remarkable  for  keen  insight  and  prophetic  vision.  He 
realized  what  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana  had  meant 
in  dispelling  the  dangers  of  a  Western  secession  from  the 
republic;  and  showed  that  the  true  interests  of  the  West 
allied  her  with  Eastern  markets. 

Looming  large  on  the  horizon,  Flint  discerned  the  sec- 
ond factor  which  was  to  rend  American  life.  The  discus- 
sion of  the  Missouri  Compromise  had  scarce  begun,  but 
already  he  saw  that  the  nation  could  not  always  exist 
half-slave  and  half-free.  He  saw  also  that  the  long  border 
line  forming  a  kind  of  moral  boundary,  was  the  crucial 
difficulty,  and  that  the  acute  stage  in  the  controversy 
would  be  reached  over  the  question  of  fugitive  slaves.  To 
the  present  generation  these  seem  self-evident  truths;  but 
few  Americans  and  fewer  foreigners  had  the  keenness  to 
perceive  this  before  1820.  Flint,  however,  unlike  many 
Englishmen  of  his  day,  was  no  radical  condemner  of  slav- 


1818-1820]  Preface  1 i 

ery;  he  appreciated  its  patriarchal  features  and  its  real 
benefits  for  the  negroes.  He  also  saw  that  the  masters 
suffered  more  deterioration  by  the  system  than  the  slaves; 
that  the  responsibility  for  the  system  rested  not  upon  pres- 
ent, but  historic  conditions;  and  that  wholesale  denuncia- 
tion was  not  only  unjust,  but  useless. 

In  addition  to  his  comments  on  this  great  social  ques- 
tion, Flint  throws  much  light  on  general  conditions  in  the 
young  West.  He  studies  the  spectacular  drama  of  the 
camp-meeting  revival  not  only  from  the  point  of  pic- 
turesqueness,  but  of  educational  and  religious  develop- 
ment. He  realizes  the  need  of  the  people  for  education, 
but  appreciates  the  provisions  made  therefor  in  public 
lands.  Throughout  the  West  he  finds  the  saving  remnant 
—  people  of  culture  and  refinement,  who  welcome 
strangers  with  hospitality,  and  are  laboring  to  erect  a 
worthy  civilization  in  this  newest  community.  The  social 
equality  everywhere  evident  among  whites  pleases  him, 
and  he  remarks  not  unkindly  upon  the  general  dislike 
for  personal  service  that  characterizes  the  ambitious  West. 
His  satire  on  the  excess  of  the  honorary  titles  of  " major," 
' ' colonel,' '  and  "  judge,"  as  well  as  upon  the  readiness 
with  which  the  "land  of  liberty"  is  vociferously  proclaimed, 
is  gentle  and  kindly. 

But  all  these  features  of  Flint's  work  are  secondary 
to  his  economic  study.  Not  only  did  he  prove  himself 
a  wise  and  trained  observer,  but  he  was  a  scientific  econo- 
mist, and  had  come  to  the  United  States  for  research  ma- 
terial. At  each  stage  of  his  travels  he  sets  forth  the  ratio 
between  prices  and  wages,  explains  the  industrial  aspects, 
and  the  prospects  for  emigrants.  Already,  he  tells  us, 
nearly  all  the  best  land  of  Kentucky  and  Ohio  is  taken  up. 
Settlement  is  flooding  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Missouri, 


1 2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

where  cheap  lands  are  yet  available.  He  shows  the  sani- 
tary disadvantages  of  this  newer,  more  reeking  soil,  as 
against  the  possibilities  it  offers  to  the  emigrant  to  secure 
the  profits  of  his  own  industry.  With  keen  indignation 
he  condemns  the  unsound  banking  system  of  the  West, 
deprecates  the  booming  of  town  sites,  and  the  "log-roll- 
ing" in  state  legislatures.  But  in  the  face  of  criticism,  and 
as  though  eager  to  forestall  unfavorable  judgments,  he 
contrasts  American  conditions  with  those  of  Great  Britain, 
with  no  undue  favor  for  the  latter,  reminding  his  English 
readers  that  here  are  no  boroughs  to  monopolize  business 
interests,  no  clergymen  to  control  education,  no  nobility 
to  exact  special  privileges.  ' 1 1  have  never  heard  of  any 
parson  who  acts  as  Justice  of  the  Peace,  or  who  intermixes 
his  addresses  to  the  Great  Object  0}  Religious  Worship, 
with  the  eulogy  of  the  Holy  Alliance.  .  .  .  The  farming 
interest  has  no  monopoly  against  manufacturing:  nor  has 
the  manufacturing  any  positive  prohibition  against  the 
farmer."  Free  industry  is  the  dominating  factor  of 
American  life,  the  keystone  of  its  prosperity. 

In  short,  we  have  in  Flint's  Letters  a  remarkable  study 
of  American  life  in  the  beginning  of  its  new  era,  at  the 
close  of  the  second  war  with  England.  Charitable,  com- 
prehending, thoughtful,  he  does  not  slur  over  national 
faults  nor  unduly  praise  local  virtues.  Dangers,  both 
financial  and  political,  are  pointed  out ;  but  the  basic  prin- 
ciples of  American  society  are  distinctly  and  clearly  laid 
bare,  and  the  progress  and  possibilities  of  the  New  West 
revealed. 

In  the  present  reprint,  the  original  edition,  published  in 
Edinburgh  in  1822,  has  been  followed;  save  that  the 
Addenda  given  in  the  latter    (pp.  303-330),  have  been 


1818-1820]  Preface  1 3 

omitted,  as  being  composed  of  material  of  small  present 
importance: 

1.  Two  letters  from  a  Jefferson ville  (Indiana)  lawyer 
dated  Dec.  20,  1820,  and  Aug.  1,  1821,  commenting  satiri- 
cally upon  the  wildcat  currency  of  that  day. 

2.  Three  other  letters,  by  various  persons,  giving  an 
account  of  material  progress  in  Indiana. 

3.  "The  American  Tariff,  with  alterations  and  addi- 
ions." 

In  the  preparation  of  this  volume  for  the  press,  the 
Editor  has  had  the  assistance  of  Louise  Phelps  Kellogg, 
Ph.D.,  Edith  Kathryn  Lyle,  Ph.D.,  and  Mr.  Archer 
Butler  Hulbert. 

R.  G.  T. 

Madison,  Wis.,  October,  1904. 


Flint's  Letters  from  America — 1818-1820 


Reprint  of  the  original  edition:   Edinburgh,  1822 


LETTERS 


AMERICA, 


CONTAINING 


OBSERVATIONS  ON  THE  CLIMATE  AND  AGRICULTURE  OF 
THE  WESTERN  STATES,  THE  MANNERS  OP  THE  PEOPLE, 
THE  PROSPECTS  OF  EMIGRANTS,  &c«  &c. 


BY  JAMES  FLINT. 


1  From  the  disorders  that  disfigure  the  annals  of  the  Republics  of  Greece  and  Italy,  the 
advocates  of  despotism  have  drawn  arguments,  not  only  against  the  forms  of  republican 
government,  but  against  the  very  principles  of  civil  liberty.  They  have  decried  all  free 
governments  as  inconsistent  with  the  order  of  society,  and  have  indulged  themselves  in 
malicious  exultation  over  its  friends  and  partizans.  Happily  for  mankind,  stupendous 
fabrics  reared  on  the  basis  of  liberty,  which  have  flourished  for  ages,  have,  in  a  few  glori- 
ous instances,  refuted  their  gloomy  sophism*.  And,  I  trust,  America  wiU  be  the  broad  and 
solid  foundation  of  other  edifices  not  less  magnificent,  which  will  be  equally  permanent 
monuments  of  their  error."— General  Alexander  Hamilton. 


EDINBURGH : 
PRINTED  FOR  W.  &  C.  TAIT,  PRINCE'S  STREET; 

AND  LONGMAN,  HURST,  REES,  ORME,  AND  BROWN, 
LONDON. 

1822. 


TO 

JAMES  STUART,  Esquire 

YOUNGER   OF   DUNEARN 

THE 

FOLLOWING   SHEETS 
ARE  RESPECTFULLY   INSCRIBED 

BY 

THE  AUTHOR 


CONTENTS 

LETTER  I 

Voyage  from  Greenock  to  New  York  —  Circumstances  of 

Passengers — Arrival,  &c.    ------       25 

LETTER  II 

Observations  on  New  York — Removal  to  Long  Island  — 
Miscellaneous  Remarks — Return  to  New  York — Farther 
Observations  on  the  City    ------       30 

LETTER  III 

Journey  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  —  Observations  on 

Philadelphia — Institutions — Manufactures  —  People       -       48 

LETTER  IV 

Journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg — Remarks  on  the 
Country — Notices  of  Emigrants,  and  occurrences  by  the 
way  ---------64 

LETTER  V 

Pittsburg  —  Situation  —  Manufactures — Occurrences — Peo- 
ple   -  82 

LETTER  VI 

Descend  the  Ohio  from  Pittsburg  to  Beaver — Occurrences 

and  Remarks  there 89 

[vi]    LETTER  VII 

Descend  the  Ohio  from  Beaver  to  Portsmouth  —  Occurrences 

and  Remarks  Interspersed      -         -        -  -        -    100 


22  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

LETTER  VIII 

Leave  Portsmouth  —  Digression  on  Economical  Travelling — 
Chillicothe  —  Progress  of  a  Scotch  Family  —  Game  — 
Trees  and  Shrubs  —  Rolled  Pieces  of  Primitive  Rocks — 
Implements — Antiquities —  Organic  Remains  —  Missouri 
and  Illinois — Paper  Currency        -        -        -        -         -114 

LETTER  IX 

Lexington  —  Paper  Currency — Bankers  —  Menials  —  Habits 
—  Prices  of  Live  Stock — Provisions,  &c.  —  Slavery,  and 
its  Effects — Recrimination  against  Illiberal  Reflections — 
Descend  the  Ohio  to  Cincinnati — Occurrences  and  Reflec- 
tions   - ^ 

LETTER  X 

Cincinnati — Weather — Descend  the  Ohio  to  the  Falls  of  the 

Ohio — Taverns  and  Accommodation     -        -         -        -149 

LETTER  XI 

Morals  and  Manners — Education — Generosity— The  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States        -        -        -        -        -         -165 

LETTER  XII 

On  Emigration — The  Prospects  of  Emigrants — Inconve- 
niences— The  Method  of  Laying  out  and  Disposing  of 
Public  Lands        -        -         -        -        -•.-.-        _     ^ 

LETTER  XIII 

Comparative  Advantages  of  Different  Parts  of  the  United 
States — Temperature  at  Philadelphia  and  Cincinnati — 
Reflections  on  Slave-Keeping  -        -        -        -        -        -181 

LETTER  XIV 

Lawyers — Doctors — Clergy — Mechanics — Justices    of    the 

Peace — Anecdotes — Punishments — Reflections      -  194 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  23 

[vii]    LETTER  XV 

Outline  of  the  American  Constitution — From  the  Frequency 
of  Revolutions  in  Europe,  the  Instability  of  the  American 
Republic  is  not  to  be  inferred  -  205 

LETTER  XVI 

State  Legislatures — Predilection  for  Dividing  Counties,  Laying 
out  New  Towns  and  Roads — The  Influence  of  Slavery  on 
the  Habits  of  the  People — Banking        -        -        -  215 

LETTER  XVII 

Depreciated  Paper  Money — Want  of  Employment — State 

Expenses — The  Progress  of  New  Settlements  -        -        -     224 

LETTER  XVIII 

Passage  to  Cincinnati — Trade — Manufactures — Institutions 
— Banks — Climate — Notice  of  three  Indian  Chiefs — 
Remarks  on  the  Indian  People         -        -        -        -  237 

LETTER  XIX 

Descend  the  Ohio  from  Cincinnati  to  Madison — Notices  of  a 
Scotch  Settlement — Excess  of  Male  Population — Roads 

—  Harvest  —  Crops  —  Orchards  —  Timber  —  Elections 

—  Methodist  Camp  Meeting    -        -'-        -        -        -250 

LETTER  XX 

Circumstances   that  Retard    Manufacturing   Industry,    and 

Causes  of  its  Prosperity  -------     264 

LETTER  XXI 

Circuit  Court  of  Indiana — Lands — Crops — Salt  springs — 
Corydon — Barrens — Caves — Tornado — Alluvial  Lands 
— Large  Trees — Wild  Vines — Steam  boats — the  Falls 
of  the  Ohio — Billious  and  Intermitting  Fevers — Taci- 
turnity— Americanisms   -------     276 


24  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

LETTER  XXII 

Miscellaneous  Remarks  on  the  Manners  and  Habits  of  the 

People 290 

[viii]    LETTER  XXIII 

Passage  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  Cincinnati — Journey  to 
Lake  Erie — the  Great  Sciota — Pickaway  Plains  Prairies 
— Sickly  State  of  the  Country — Indians — People   -        -     296 

LETTER  XXIV 

Passage  on  Lake  Erie — The  Falls  of  Niagara — Passage  on 
Lake  Ontario — Descend  the  River  St.  Lawrence — Falls 
— Montreal — Quebec — Indians — Remarks  on  the  Peo- 
ple— Timber  Trade — Government — Climate         -        -     313 


LETTERS  FROM  AMERICA 


LETTER  I 

Voyage  from  Greenock  to  New  York  —  Circumstances 
of  Passengers  —  Arrival,  &c. 

New  York,  July  10,  1818. 

As  I  have  already  informed  you,  I  sailed  from  Greenock 
on  the  24th  of  May  last,  in  the  American  ship  Glenthorn, 
Stillman  Master,  bound  for  this  place. 

I  observed  that  my  fellow  emigrants  were  much  affected 
when  about  to  take  a  final  leave  of  their  native  land :  some 
regretting  the  separation  from  their  native  soil,  while 
others,  mute  and  thoughtful,  seemed  to  suffer  under  feel- 
ings of  a  more  tender  kind. 

To  some  it  may  appear  inconsistent  in  people  to  regret 
leaving  their  homes  and  their  friends,  while  the  emigration 
is  voluntarily  undertaken;  but  on  this  occasion,  the  para- 
dox will  be  explained,  when  their  circumstances  and  views 
are  taken  into  consideration. 

Of  our  party  were  three  farmers,  with  their  families, 
whose  leases  were  expired;  all  of  them  having  declined 
engaging  for  a  new  term  of  years,  [2]  under  the  apprehen- 
sion of  seeing  their  paternal  stock,  and  the  savings  of  many 
years'  industry,  divided  between  the  landholder  and  the 
collector  of  taxes.  A  native  of  Scotland,  who  had  resided 
several  years  in  America,  returned  with  the  intention  of 
resuming  business  in  the  town  where  he  was  born,  but  the 
thick  ranks  of  a  necessitous  and  half  employed  population, 
had  closed  on  the  place  he  had  left.    There  was  a  widow, 


26  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

with  two  children,  on  her  way  to  put  herself  under  the 
protection  of  a  brother  in  America.  With  us  also  were 
several  of  the  labouring  class,  whose  utmost  exertions  could 
only  procure  the  bare  support  of  existence;  and  plough- 
men, who  prudently  refrained  from  marrying  with  fourteen 
pounds  a-year.  In  short,  there  was  scarcely  one  of  our 
number  whose  condition  might  not  perhaps  be  bettered, 
or  whose  prospects  could  be  rendered  worse,  by  the  change 
of  country. 

In  a  voyage  from  Europe  to  America,  most  passengers 
may  expect  to  be  sea-sick.  Nearly  all  of  them  on  board 
the  Glenthorn,  on  this  occasion,  suffered  more  or  less. 
For  my  own  part,  I  never  was  entirely  free  from  it  for  more 
than  three-fourths  of  the  passage.  This  disease  is  dispir- 
iting while  it  continues,  but  as  it  is  believed  to  produce  no 
permanent  injury,  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  thought  con- 
ducive to  future  health,  the  attack  is  not  at  all  dreaded. 
People  unaccustomed  to  the  seafaring  life  ought  to  carry 
with  them  those  kinds  of  provisions  to  which  they  have  been 
previously  accustomed,  as  the  stores  of  the  ship  soon 
become  loathsome  to  the  sick.  Potatoes  will  be  found 
acceptable,  when  the  caprice  of  taste  rejects  almost  every 
other  food ;  and  walking  on  deck  is  of  service,  as  the  air 
is  better,  and  the  pitching  of  the  ship  is  considerably  less 
felt,  than  below. 

[3]  It  is  very  improper  to  go  to  sea  in  crowded  vessels; 
as  epidemic  diseases  are  engendered,  and  the  most  dread- 
ful mortality  is  the  consequence.  That  law  of  Britain 
which  allows  only  one  passenger  for  every  five  tons  of 
burden  in  American  ships  (including  seamen)  is  a  most 
beneficial  regulation ;  and  while,  in  American  bottoms,  the 
cabin  passenger  pays  L.21,  and  the  steerage  passenger 
.L.i 2,  the  expense  cannot  be  complained  of,  while  health 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  27 

and  comfort  are  taken  into  consideration.  It  is  much  to  he 
regretted  that  the  government  of  England  does  not  extend 
its  humane  restriction  to  its  own  Canadian  settlers,  and  to 
emigrants  who  sail  for  the  United  States  in  British  ships. 

The  4th  of  July  is  celebrated  by  Americans  as  the  anni- 
versary of  their  independence,  declared  in  1776.  The 
captain  and  seamen  were  disposed  to  be  joyful  in  commem- 
oration of  this  great  event.  The  striped  flag  was  dis- 
played, guns  and  pistols  were  fired,  accompanied  with  loud 
cheers.  The  passengers,  no  less  enthusiastic,  joined  in 
the  strongest  expressions  of  their  devotedness  to  the  demo- 
cratic form  of  government.  They  indulged  in  such  sen- 
timents as,  a  sincere  wish  that  the  United  States  may  long 
continue  exempt  from  that  excessive  corruption,  as  they 
thought,  which  has  so  long  and  so  much  degraded  a  large 
portion  of  the  human  race; — and  their  avowed  satis- 
faction at  the  near  prospect  of  becoming  people  of  the  Re- 
public. 

On  the  8th  we  came  in  sight  of  Long  Island,  and  the 
high  lands  of  New  Jersey;  a  welcome  occurrence  to  people 
who  had  been  so  long  at  sea.  In  the  afternoon  a  pilot 
came  on  board.  He  informed  us  that  the  city  was  in  great 
bustle,  as  the  inhabitants  were  assembled  to  deposit  the 
bones  of  General  Montgomery,  who  fell  at  Quebec,  on  the 
31st  of  December,  1775.1    The  remains  of  the  patriotic 


1  General  Richard  Montgomery  (1737-1775)  was  a  native  of  Ireland,  and 
served  with  Wolfe  at  Quebec  in  1759.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  he  was  appointed  commander  of  the  American  forces  in  the  Northern  De- 
partment, being  killed  in  his  heroic  assault  on  Quebec,  December  31,  1775. 
Through  the  courtesy  of  the  British  general  his  body  was  buried  with  the  honors 
of  war  within  the  unconquered  walls  of  Quebec.  Forty-three  years  later  the 
remains  were  disinterred,  in  compliance  with  a  special  act  of  the  New  York  legis- 
lature, brought  to  New  York  City  and  deposited  with  great  solemnity  beneath 
a  monument  in  front  of  St.  Paul's  church  (July  8,  1818).  A  full  account  of  the 
ceremony  is  contained  in  the  New  York  Daily  Advertiser  of  that  date. —  Ed. 


28  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

[4]  leader  were  buried  by  the  ministerialists  without  the 
fort,  and  were  to-day  interred  by  his  grateful  countrymen 
under  the  portico  of  St.  Paul's  church,  New  York.  We 
were  sorry  that  it  was  not  in  our  power  to  witness  the  sol- 
emnity. 

In  the  evening  we  were  off  the  point  Sandyhook.  The 
smell  of  the  new  hay  on  the  adjacent  fields  regaled  us  very 
agreeably.  All  seemed  elated  with  joy.  A  bagpipe  and 
two  violins  played  by  turns,  and  our  young  people  danced 
on  deck  till  a  late  hour.  During  this  season  of  mirth, 
we  were  entertained  by  a  sight,  perhaps  unequalled  in  the 
phenomena  of  an  European  climate.  Some  dense  black 
clouds  which  hung  over  Long  Island,  were  frequently 
illuminated  by  flashes  of  lightning.  It  is  in  vain  to  attempt 
a  description.  About  midnight  we  passed  through  the 
Narrows,  and  soon  afterwards  anchored  on  the  quarantine 
ground,  about  seven  miles  from  New  York. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  July,  the  inspecting  sur- 
geon visited  us,  and  allowed  the  anchor  to  be  weighed. 
In  this  situation  we  had  a  full  view  of  the  shores  of  Staten 
and  Long  Islands.  The  wooden  houses  are  neat,  and  the 
orchards  and  natural  woods  have  a  thriving  appearance. 
It  would  seem  that  the  people  here  have  a  partiality  to 
the  Lombardy  poplar,  which  grows  to  a  great  height, 
shooting  up  its  branches  nearly  perpendicularly;  assuming 
something  of  the  appearance  of  a  spire.  The  straight  rows 
of  these  trees,  so  common  here,  have  an  insipid  regularity 
and  sameness,  more  like  a  file  of  armed  soldiery  than  an 
ornamental  grove. 

Some  of  the  frame  houses  are  painted  red,  those  of  the 
finer  sort,  white;  ornamental  railings  are  also  painted 
white.  To  an  European  eye,  these  colours  appear  too 
glaring.    The  lands  seen  from  the  bay  are  sandy  and  poor. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  29 

[5]  The  first  glimpse  of  the  city  of  New  York  is  by  no 
means  a  distinct  one.  The  buildings  are  much  obscured 
by  the  forest  of  masts  in  front  of  them;  and  as  the  site  of 
the  town  rises  but  gently  inland,  the  houses  in  front  con- 
ceal, in  a  great  measure,  those  in  the  rear,  so  that  the  ship- 
ping and  the  numerous  spires  are  the  objects  most  dis- 
tinctly seen. 

Before  entering  the  port  we  were  twice  boarded  by 
agents  from  the  Newspaper  offices.  They  inquired  for 
British  newspapers,  and  generally  for  the  news  of  Europe; 
they  noted  down  the  names  of  several  of  our  passengers, 
which  they  intended  to  publish  in  the  papers  of  the  after- 
noon. There  are  no  less  than  seven  newspapers  printed 
in  New  York  daily;  the  competition  of  these  Journalists  is 
keen,  and  their  industry  seems  to  be  great. 

We  have  experienced  much  good  treatment  from  Captain 
Stillman.  Every  passenger  is  so  sensible  of  this,  that  a 
committee  of  their  number  was  requested  to  make  public 
testimony  of  their  esteem  for  him. 

We  landed  yesterday  about  noon,  all  in  good  health  and 
spirits.  During  the  voyage,  passengers  have  experienced 
no  kind  of  sickness,  except  that  peculiarly  incident  to  the 
sea. 

This  letter  cannot  come  immediately  into  the  hands  of 
all  my  friends;  most  of  them,  I  hope,  will  hear  that  I  am 
arrived  in  this  place  in  good  health.  Should  you  adopt 
any  way  of  making  this  and  any  subsequent  communica- 
tions generally  known  to  them,  it  will  be  very  gratifying 
to  me,  and,  besides,  will  relieve  me  of  the  labour  of  writing 
many  letters;  a  labour,  dictated  by  the  strongest  ties  of 
gratitude  and  affection,  but  one  which  it  is  doubtful  if  I 
can  accomplish  to  the  satisfaction  of  my  own  mind. 


30  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

[6]  LETTER  II 

Observations  on  New  York  —  Removal  to  Long  Island  — 
Miscellaneous  Remarks  —  Return  to  New  York  —  Far- 
ther Observations  on  the  City. 

New  York,  August  4,  181 8. 

On  entering  New  York,  I  was  struck  with  its  appear- 
ance. Streets  lined  with  lofty  trees,  most  of  them  the 
Lombardy  poplar,  which  affords  a  very  agreeable  shade  in 
hot  weather;  indeed,  they  are  so  numerous,  that  the  new 
comer,  when  he  looks  before  him,  is  apt  to  suppose  him- 
self in  the  midst  of  a  wood.  The  streets,  with  a  few  ex- 
ceptions, are  too  narrow,  and  are  deficient  in  sewers. 
Many  parts  of  the  town  prevent  me  from  thinking  that  it 
deserves  the  character  of  extreme  cleanliness  bestowed 
upon  it.  The  greater  part  of  the  houses  are  of  brick, 
neatly  built;  but,  to  eyes  accustomed  to  towns  of  hewn 
stone,  New  York  has,  on  the  whole,  what  (for  want  of  a 
more  descriptive  word)  may  be  called  a  gingerbread  ap- 
pearance. 

The  markets  here  are  amply  supplied  with  fine  vege- 
tables, and  an  immense  variety  of  excellent  fish,  a  great 
proportion  of  which  are  sold  alive.  Beef  and  pork  are  good, 
but  the  mutton  and  veal  that  I  have  seen  are  of  inferior 
quality.  Marketing  is  carried  on  more  after  the  manner 
in  some  English  country  towns.  No  servants,  but  masters, 
attend  and  carry  home  the  provisions. 

Beggars  do  not  abound  here  as  in  some  countries  of 
Europe.  I  am  told  that  every  man  who  is  [7]  able  to  work 
can  earn  a  dollar  per  day,  and  that  his  board  costs  two  or 
three  dollars  per  week;  thus  it  is  in  his  power  to  banish 
every  appearance  of  poverty,  and  to  save  some  money,  pro- 
vided he  is  disposed  to  economy.     Mechanics  have  good 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  31 

encouragement.  Joiners  one  and  three-quarters,  and 
masons  two  dollars  a-day.  They  usually  pay  three 
dollars,  or  upwards,  a- week  for  their  board. 

Many  of  the  necessaries  of  life  are  here  purchased  at 
high  prices.  Woollen  cloths  and  most  articles  of  wearing 
apparel  imported,  pay  duties,  varying,  in  different  cases, 
from  25  to  33  per  cent.  In  transacting  with  the  merchant 
and  the  tailor,  farther  American  enhancements  may  be 
calculated  upon.  Washing  and  dressing  of  shirts,  neck- 
cloths, &c.  costs  a  dollar  and  a  half  per  dozen.  Every 
thing  that  an  American  does,  must  be  liberally  paid  for. 
This  tends  to  render  living  dear,  even  where  provisions 
are  cheap. 

Some  imported  articles,  as  silks,  wines,  foreign  spirituous 
liquors,  teas,  sugar,  and  coffee,  are  much  cheaper  than  in 
Britain.  The  difference  of  custom-house  duties  is  the 
cause  of  this. 

The  condition  of  animals  bespeak  the  great  plenty  of 
food  that  falls  to  their  share.  The  horses  employed  in 
removing  goods  to  and  from  the  wharfs,  and  in  stage 
coaches,  are  fat,  and  in  high  spirits.  They  are  not  so 
rough-legged,  so  broad,  or  so  strong-limbed,  as  the  draught 
horses  of  Britain;  but  they  are  better  adapted  for  speed. 
Hogs,  running  in  the  streets,  are  numerous,  but  they  are 
not  starvelings.  I  have  seen  several  of  them  that  would 
yield  upwards  of  300  lbs.  of  pork  without  special  feeding. 
Speaking  of  hogs,  I  would  mention  by  the  way,  that  they 
are  allowed  to  run  at  large  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  the 
streets.  An  economical  way  of  procuring  scavengers,  [8] 
but  one  that  leads  to  a  commutation  of  nuisance  rather 
than  a  final  removal  of  it. 

July  12.  Last  night  the  heat  was  excessive,  and  not 
accompanied  with  a  breath  of  wind.     It  was  in  vain  that 


32  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

I  thrust  my  head  out  at  an  open  window  to  be  cooled. 
The  effluvia  arising  from  the  streets  is,  in  a  great  measure, 
occasioned  by  a  high  temperature.  I  imagine  that  a 
copious  evolution  of  phosphorized  hydrogen  gas  goes  on 
in  such  weather.  I  could  not  sleep  till  three  or  four  o'clock. 
This  morning  I  heard  that  some  people  who  had  suffered 
from  the  heat  and  stillness  of  the  air,  had  stretched  them- 
selves on  carpets,  or  sat  by  open  room  doors,  or  in  passages. 
Nights  so  very  oppressive  are  said  to  occur  rarely.  In  high 
and  inland  parts  of  the  country  they  do  not  occur  at  all. 

This  is  not  the  most  proper  season  of  the  year  for  Euro- 
peans arriving  here.  Yesterday  and  to-day  the  heat  has 
been  excessive,  the  thermometer  in  the  shade  stood  at 
91%° •  In  such  a  degree  of  heat  it  is  imprudent  to  take 
much  exercise.  The  temperature  of  the  human  body 
being  lower  than  that  of  the  air,  the  former  is  deprived  of 
the  cooling  process  usually  produced  by  evaporation. 
Should  the  heat  of  the  blood  be  increased  in  such 
a  case,  fever  commences.  We  had  an  example  of  this, 
in  a  young  man,  one  of  the  emigrants  on  board  the 
Glenthorn,  who  exerted  himself  too  much  in  getting 
baggage  ashore.  He  was  this  day  removed  to  Brook- 
lyn, a  high-lying  village  on  Long  Island,  about  a  mile 
from  New  York.  Transitions  from  heat  to  cold  are, 
perhaps,  still  more  dangerous;  of  late,  eleven  persons 
have  died  in  the  city  by  drinking  cold  water.  Several 
of  them  were  strangers  newly  landed.  Water  should 
not  be  drunk  immediately  from  the  [9]  well,  but  should  be 
allowed  previously  to  stand  for  a  few  minutes  in  the  air. 
It  should  be  taken  in  small  mouthfuls,  and  these  heated  in 
the  mouth  for  two  or  three  seconds  before  swallowing. 
Precautions  of  this  kind  ought  to  be  strictly  attended  to, 
while  heated  by  exercise  or  the  sun's  rays.     Spirits  are 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  33 

often  mixed  with  water,  to  prevent  the  injurious  effects  of 
the  latter.  This  corrective,  however  much  extolled,  ought 
to  be  taken  in  very  small  quantities.  Here,  as  in  Britain, 
there  are  many  who  resort  to  spirituous  liquors  as  the  sov- 
ereign medicine,  both  in  hot  and  in  cold  weather. 

Strangers  lodge  in  boarding  houses,  and  are  charged 
from  three  dollars  to  twenty  a-week.  I  have  got  lodgings 
in  a  good  one,  where  I  find  interesting  company.  Pre- 
vious to  our  meals  a  servant  rings  a  small  hand-bell,  sum- 
moning every  lodger  to  the  public  room,  where  we  all  eat 
together.    A  polite,  well-dressed,  hostess  presides. 

Servants  are  not  here  so  attentive  to  their  duty  as  else- 
where; many  of  them  are  free  blacks,  slow  in  their  motions, 
and  often  treating  the  most  reasonable  commands  with 
neglect.  Master  is  not  a  word  in  the  vocabulary  of  hired 
people.  Bos,  a  Dutch  one  of  similar  import,  is  substi- 
tuted.2 The  former  is  used  by  Negroes,  and  is  by  free 
people  considered  as  synonymous  with  slave-keeper. 

This  afternoon  much  thunder  was  heard.  After  twi- 
light the  lightning  flashed  incessantly,  so  that  the  illumina- 
tion was  almost  permanent.  Thunder  storms  in  America 
are  more  frequent,  more  severe,  and  often  accompanied 
with  greater  rains  than  in  Europe.  A  respectable  gentle- 
man of  Delaware  county,  in  this  State,  told  me,  that 
during  a  thunder  storm  there,  he  laid  his  watch  on  the 
table,  and  found  that  an  hour  and  forty-eight  minutes 
elapsed  [10]  without  one  cessation  of  sound.  He  thinks 
it  probable  that  the  peal  lasted  about  two  hours,  as  a  few 
minutes  must  have  passed  before  the  idea  of  noting  the 
time  suggested  itself. 

July  13.  This  evening,  after  dark,  I  was  surprised  to 
see  a  large  object  standing  in  the  centre  of  one  of  the  prin- 

a  From  the  Dutch  Baas,  meaning  master. —  Ed. 


34  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

cipal  streets;  on  approaching  it,  I  discovered  that  it  was  a 
frame-house,  with  a  wheel  affixed  to  each  corner.  Its 
length  was  about  twenty-two  feet,  breadth  about  sixteen 
feet,  and  two  stories  high.  I  am  just  told  that  much  larger 
buildings  than  this  are  often  dragged  off  by  horses,  with 
their  roofs,  floors,  plaster,  doors,  and  windows,  entire; 
furniture  sometimes  included.  This  sort  of  removal 
happens  at  the  expiry  of  leases  of  small  lots,  where  the 
occupier  is  not  bound  to  leave  the  buildings. 

July  16.  For  two  days  past,  the  skin  of  my  face  has 
been  spotted,  accompanied  with  blotches,  and  with  partial 
swelling.  This  is  called  the  prickly  heat,  from  the  pungent 
feeling  that  attends  it.  A  medical  gentleman  has  told  me, 
that  this  has  been  occasioned  by  a  sudden  cooling,  which 
has  put  a  stop  to  perspiration.  He  congratulated  me  on 
having  escaped  a  fever,  prescribed  a  hot  bath,  and  subse- 
quent sea-bathing.  I  am  about  to  set  out  for  Long  Island, 
in  obedience  to  the  latter  part  of  the  Doctors  prescription. 

Afternoon.  Arrived  at  New-Utrecht,  a  village  near  the 
south-western  extremity  of  Long  Island.3  On  leaving  New 
York,  I  crossed  the  ferry  to  Brooklyn,  by  a  steam-boat  of 
singular  construction :  this  vessel  is  composed  of  two  hulls, 
at  a  little  distance  from,  and  parallel  to,  one  another;  they 
are  connected  by  a  deck  common  to  both.  The  water- 
wheel,  turned  by  a  steam-engine,  is  placed  between  [n] 
the  keels  of  the  boats.  There  is  a  rudder  at  each  end,  so 
that  she  can  cross  and  re-cross,  without  putting  about. 

A  stage  coach  runs  from  Brooklyn  to  New  Utrecht.  The 
distance  is  nine  miles;  and  the  fare  for  one  person,  half  a 
dollar.  This  coach,  like  the  other  public  ones  of  the  coun- 
try, has  no  glass  windows  in  the  front  or  the  sides  of  it, 

3  New  Utrecht  was  in  Kings  County,  New  York,  seven  miles  from  New  York 
City.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  35 

these  parts  are  furnished  with  curtains,  which  are  let  down 
in  bad  weather.  The  coach  is  long,  containing  four  seats 
that  run  across;  and  travellers  sit  with  their  faces  forward, 
as  in  the  pews  of  a  church. 

I  have  agreed  to  stop  a  few  days  at  New  Utrecht.  My 
host  is  an  intelligent  man,  obliging,  but  not  fawning; 
he  and  his  wife  take  the  principal  drudgery  of  the  house 
upon  themselves,  as  the  slaves  are  extremely  slow  in  the  ex- 
ecution of  their  work.  Sometimes  the  landlord  presides  at 
the  head  of  the  table,  and  at  other  times  he  acts  as  servant. 
At  dinner  we  were  joined  by  the  coach-driver  who  brought 
us  from  Brooklyn;  he  is  very  unlike  the  drivers  of  some 
other  coaches,  is  well  dressed,  active,  and  attentive  to  his 
business,  by  no  means  obsequious,  answers  every  question 
with  propriety,  and  without  embarrassment.  He  does  not 
depend  on  the  gratuities  of  travellers  for  his  wages.  That 
system,  which  so  universally  prevails  in  Britain,  is  un- 
known here. 

At  the  inn  there  were  three  boarders,  all  Scotsmen.  One 
of  them,  a  young  gentleman  from  Edinburgh,  who  was 
confined  to  bed  by  a  broken  thigh  bone,  occasioned  by  a 
horse  running  away  with  a  gig,  from  which  he  fell  while 
attempting  to  disengage  himself;  he  was  occasionally  at- 
tended by  a  young  lady,  whose  visits  were  frequent,  al- 
though she  lived  at  the  distance  of  ten  miles.  The  people 
of  the  neighbourhood  were  also  very  attentive  to  this  [12] 
person,  often  calling  for  him;  and  several  of  the  young  men 
sat  with  him  all  night  by  rotation.  It  was  pleasing  to  see 
so  creditable  a  display  of  the  benevolent  affections. 

The  good  people  here  are  the  descendants  of  the  original 
Dutch  settlers.  They  are  placed  in  comfortable  circum- 
stances, their  style  of  living  somewhat  resembling  that  of 
farmers  in  the  more  fertile  and  improved  parts  of  Scotland. 


36  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

If  the  situations  of  farmers  in  the  two  countries  were  com- 
pared, it  would  appear  that  the  advantage  of  the  Long 
Islanders  consists  in  a  climate  highly  conducive  to  vegeta- 
tion, their  freedom  from  rent,  being  owners  of  the  soil,  and 
the  total  absence  of  any  heavy  taxes;  and  that  their  com- 
parative disadvantage  is,  the  want  of  such  active  domestic 
and  agricultural  servants  as  the  farmer  of  the  other 
country  employs. 

Mr.  Cobbet4  is  now  farming  about  nine  miles  from  this 
place.  His  people  (it  is  said)  could  not  bear  the  oppro- 
brious name  servant,  and,  with  the  exception  of  one  per- 
son, left  him.5 

The  fishermen  here  drag  ashore  many  fishes  in  their 
seines.  Without  other  evidence  than  the  vast  quantities 
of  smaller  ones  left  on  the  shore,  the  abundant  supply  of 
the  New  York  market  might  be  inferred.  I  bathe  twice 
a-day,  on  the  spot  where  General  Howe  first  effected  the 
landing  of  his  army.*  A  farmer  very  obligingly  gives  me 
the  key  of  his  fishing  house  on  the  beach,  that  I  may  dress 

4  William  Cobbett,  a  publicist  known  both  in  America  and  England,  was  born 
on  a  farm  in  Surrey,  March,  1762 .  After  serving  for  several  years  in  the  English 
army,  he  resigned  and  (1792)  came  to  Philadelphia.  Here,  under  the  name  of 
"Peter  Porcupine,"  he  advocated  the  cause  of  the  Federalists.  Returning  to 
London  in  1800,  he  founded  the  Weekly  Political  Register.  His  influence  with 
the  workingmen  was  so  great  that  the  English  government  became  alarmed,  and 
he  found  it  prudent  to  spend  two  more  years  in  America  (181 7-19).  He  pub- 
lished his  experiences  as  a  Long  Island  farmer  (18 18),  under  the  title  A  Year's 
Residence  in  the  United  States  of  America.  Vigorously  opposing  the  plans  of 
Morris  Birkbeck  and  others  to  bring  over  colonies  of  British  emigrants  to  the 
United  States,  his  attacks  and  the  replies  that  followed  brought  on  a  journal- 
istic controversy  which  lasted  until  about  1825.  (See  volumes  x,  xi,  and  xii 
of  our  series.)  Upon  his  return  to  England,  he  was  elected  to  parliament  as  a 
Liberal  in  1832,  and  served  until  his  death  (1835). —  Ed. 

*  This  person  was  English. —  Flint. 

6  Admiral  Lord  Richard  Howe,  British  general  in  the  Revolutionary  War, 
left  Halifax  with  his  fleet  June  11,  1776^0  effect  a  union  with  General  Clinton 
at  New  York.  He  arrived  at  Sandy  Hook  June  29,  and  July  2  took  possession 
of  Staten  Island. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  37 

and  undress  in  it.  The  farmers  here  catch  great  quantities 
of  fish,  with  which  they  manure  their  land. 

There  are  still  a  considerable  number  of  slaves  in  Long 
Island;  they  are  treated  with  a  degree  of  [13]  humanity  that 
slaves  in  some  other  parts  of  the  world  never  experience; 
they  are  well  fed,  and  the  whip  is  very  seldom  resorted  to. 
Notwithstanding  their  comparative  advantages,  they  de- 
test the  unnatural  yoke,  and  frequently  run  off.  It  often 
happens  that  the  master  neither  pursues  nor  inquires  after 
the  fugitive.  What  becomes  of  the  *  self-emancipated  is 
not  here  well  understood.  I  have  heard  that  many  of  them 
get  to  Boston,  or  some  other  of  the  northern  ports,  from 
whence  they  are  carried  to  the  Southern  States,  sold,  and 
placed  under  a  harsher  treatment. 

A  great  part  of  the  slaves  of  the  State  of  New  York  are 
to  be  emancipated  in  the  year  1827.7  It  is  difficult  to  pre- 
dict the  consequences  of  this  liberation.  It  is  to  be  feared 
that  people  who  have  been  compelled  to  work,  will,  of 
their  own  choice,  become  banditti,  rather  than  adopt  in- 
dustrious habits.  Arrangements  must  necessarily  be  made 
before  the  arrival  of  this  revolution;  but  many  satisfy 
themselves  by  saying,  that  the  legislature  will  devise  some 
plan  that  will  enable  them  to  get  over  the  difficulty.  Some 
suggest  that  the  Negroes  shall  be  returned  to  Africa.  On 
this  measure,  the  African  Association,  so  much  talked  of 
in  America,   proceeds.8    The   expense   of  transporting, 

7  By  act  of  legislation,  31st  March,  181 7,  "Every  Negro,  Mulatto,  or  Mustee, 
within  this  State,  born  before  the  4th  day  of  July,  1799,  shall,  from  and  after 
the  4th  day  of  July,  1827,  be  free." —  Flint. 

8  The  American  Society  for  the  Colonization  of  the  Free  People  of  Color  of 
the  United  States,  was  organized  at  Washington,  December,  1816.  It  rapidly 
gained  favor,  both  North  and  South,  and  by  February,  1820,  sufficient  money 
had  been  subscribed  to  send  the  first  colony  to  Liberia.  But  the  free  negroes 
disliked  it;  the  colonists  suffered  great  hardships  in  Liberia;  and  the  aboli- 
tionists soon  opposed  the  project.  William  Lloyd  Garrison  began  to  denounce 
the  Society  in  1829,  and  thereafter  it  declined  steadily  in  importance. —  Ed. 


38  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

settling,  supporting,  and  governing  a  new  colony,  must  be 
immense.  The  design  is  as  benevolent  as  the  difficulties 
to  be  encountered  are  great.  The  support  it  meets  with  in 
slave-keeping  states,  looks  like  a  pledge  of  sincerity,  and 
an  omen  that  forebodes  success  to  the  undertaking. 

[14]  The  project  of  removing  blacks  to  the  backwoods 
of  America  seems  to  be  altogether  objectionable.  It 
would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  prevent  their  return 
from  exile;  their  previous  habits  and  disposition  render 
them  ill-calculated  to  the  work  of  subduing  the  forests. 
Besides,  they  would  commit  depredations  on  the  neigh- 
boring settlers,  and  on  the  Indian  people. 

Long  Island  being  composed  of  alluvial  soil,  surrounded 
by  a  high  beach,  its  surface  is  necessarily  what  is  called  a 
table  land :  for  the  most  part  the  surface  is  somewhat  flat, 
the  soil  is  dry,  and  at  this  season,  without  streams  of  water. 
Near  the  surface  I  have  observed  a  substratum  that  is 
intermixed  with  clay.  If  a  part  of  this  was  raised  above 
the  ground,  it  would  be  made  to  approach  to  a  loam,  more 
productive,  and  less  liable  to  be  injured  by  drought,  than 
the  present  sandy  coating  that  covers  the  surface.  A 
trenching,  performed  by  the  spade  or  by  the  plough,  would 
no  doubt  produce  the  good  effect. 

A  labourer  in  Long  Island  receives  half  a  dollar  a-day, 
with  his  board,  and  a  dollar  in  harvest. 

The  weather,  which  is  said  to  be  hotter  at  present  than 
it  has  been  for  several  years,  begins  to  scorch  the  surface 
of  the  ground.  The  stubble  from  which  the  hay  has 
recently  been  removed,  retains  the  appearance  of  a  newly 
mown  field;  pasture  grass  is  withering.  In  some  fields  a 
rank  crop  of  weeds  continues  green;  amongst  these  the 
cattle  are  straying  nearly  two  feet  deep,  but  are  in  reality 
almost  starving;   water  is  drawn  from  deep  wells,   and 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  39 

served  out  to  them  in  rather  too  small  quantities.  The 
cows  are  small,  as  may  be  expected.  Good  crops  of 
wheat,  rye,  and  Indian  corn,  are  raised.  These  require 
manure.  Indian  corn  is  considered  a  good  crop,  when  at 
the  rate  [15]  of  40  bushels  per  acre.  Oats  do  not  ripen 
well  from  the  excessive  heat,  and  are  used  only  for  the  feed 
of  horses.  Potatoes  are  small;  their  tops  grow  high  and 
slender,  as  when  shaded  by  trees  in  your  country;  their 
leaves  are  small  and  shrivelled.  The  greatest  luxuriance  to 
be  met  with  in  Long  Island  is  in  the  orchards,  the  branches 
of  apple  and  pear  trees  are  bent  down,  and  not  unfrequently 
broken  by  the  weight  of  the  fruit.  Peach  trees  were  lately 
productive,  but  are  now  falling  into  decay.  I  have  met 
with  no  one  able  to  assign  the  cause.  The  woods  are 
thriving,  but  few  of  the  trees  are  large;  they  are  evidently 
a  new  growth,  and  not  contemporary  with  the  thick  trunks 
that  opposed  the  first  settlers.  The  owners  frequently 
spare  their  own  timber,  and  purchase  from  other  parts  of 
the  State,  or  from  New  Jersey.  In  consequence  of  pay- 
ing for  timber  and  carriage,  building  in  Long  Island  is 
rendered  more  expensive  than  in  more  late  settlements. 

It  is  not  easy  to  state  the  price  of  land  in  Long  Island, 
as  much  of  it  has  descended  from  father  to  son,  from  the 
first  settlement ;  and  sales  have  been  rare.  A  farm  within 
ten  miles  of  New  York  would  perhaps  sell  at  140  or  150 
dollars  (from  L.31, 10s.  to  L.33, 15s.)  per  acre.  The  prac- 
tice of  renting  land  is  by  shares,  the  occupier  paying  to  the 
proprietor  one  half  of  the  actual  price  of  the  produce,  the 
former  bearing  the  risk  and  trouble  of  collecting  the 
money. 

The  fences  are  of  wood.  The  figure  is  a  representation 
of  the  railing  commonly  adopted  here. 

[16]  A  fence  of  this  sort,  costs  about  a  dollar  for  every 


4° 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  9 


ten  yards  in  length.  Where  the  posts  are  of  cedar,  and 
the  rails  of  chesnut,  the  erection,  it  is  said,  may  stand 
about  fifty  years.  I  examined  one  reported  to  be  thirty 
years  old,  and  found  it  to  be  so  strong,  that  it  may  be  ex- 
pected still  to  last  for  years  to  come.  There  are  neither 
hedges  nor  stone  fences  to  be  seen  in  this  neighbourhood. 


The  crops,  as  in  most  parts  of  America,  are  cut  down 
by  what  is  called  the  Cradle-scythe.  I  went  into  a  field 
where  a  Negro  was  reaping  wheat  with  this  sort  of  imple- 
ment, and  observed  that  about  an  English  acre  was  cut 
down.  On  making  inquiry,  it  appeared  that  he  had  been 
engaged  about  six  hours  in  the  work.  The  following  dia- 
logue ensued : 

' 'You  work  very  hard  ?" 

"No  Sir,  I  can  do  much  more  in  the  time,  but  that  of  no 
use." 

"You  are  not  free  then  ?" 

"No  Sir,  I  a  slave,  I  longs  to  Jacob  Van ,  there," 

(pointing  to  the  farm  house.) 

"But  you  black  people  are  very  well  treated  here?" 

"Oh  yes,  Sir,  master  very  good  to  me,  give  me  every 
thing  to  eat  he  eat  self,  but  no  Sunday  clothes. ' ' 

"You  may  live  happier  than  some  poor  free  people ?" 

"That  may  be  true,  Sir,  but  put  bird  in  cage,  give  him 
plenty  to  eat,  still  he  fly  away. ' ' 

I  delay  giving  a  description  of  the  cradle-scythe,  as  I 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  41 

doubt  if  the  one  that  I  have  just  seen  is  of  the  best  con- 
struction. 

After  the  crop  is  cut,  the  swath  is  collected  by  the  hand, 
and  tied  into  sheaves;  a  small  quantity  of  ^stalks  still  re- 
main scattered  over  the  surface,  [17]  these  are  commonly 
collected  by  the  hand-rake.  To  facilitate  the  latter  part 
of  the  process,  a  horse  rake  has  been  recently  invented; 
of  which  the  following  figure  is  a  representation. 


AB  is  a  beam  about  six  inches  square,  and  about  twelve 
feet  long.  CD  is  an  upright  rail  that  prevents  the  stalks 
accumulated  by  the  machine  from  falling  over  the  beam 
AB,  and  so  left  behind.  EF,  e}>  are  two  supports  to  the 
rail,  which  also  serve  as  handles  for  steering,  and  occa- 
sionally upsetting  the  machine.  ABHG  is  a  tire  of  wooden 
teeth,  one  and  a  half  inches  diameter,  and  about  six 
inches  distant  from  one  another.  These  teeth  are  sharp- 
ened at  their  extremities,  and  skim  along  the  ground  with 
their  points  forward ;  raising  up  and  collecting  the  stalks. 


42  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

IK  are  trees  to  which  the  horses  are  yoked.  The  trees 
are  attached  to  the  beam  AB,  by  the  rope  BLA. 

[18]  The  field  in  which  I  saw  the  horse  rake  used  is  flat 
and  not  ridged;  consequently  the  straight  beam  operated 
very  well.  To  adapt  a  beam  to  ridges,  it  would  only  be 
necessary  to  construct  it  with  two  joints  or  hinges;  one  at 
each  side  of  the  handles,  and  to  connect  the  central  part 
of  the  beam  by  a  rope  with  the  point  of  attachment  L. 
Otherwise,  the  implement  may  be  moved  across  the  ridges. 

Four  wheeled  waggons  are  the  vehicles  used  in  carry- 
ing home  the  crops,  carrying  manure  into  the  fields,  and 
produce  to  market.  They  are  drawn  by  two  horses, 
which  trot,  whether  loaded  or  not.  Small  one-horse 
waggons  are  also  used,  they  are  neat,  and  are  furnished 
with  a  seat  for  conveying  families  to  church,  and  else- 
where. Many  of  the  farmers  who  own  but  small  proper- 
ties, keep  one  horse  gigs.    Ladies  drive  dexterously. 

The  practice  of  housing  the  crops,  and  the  ancient  one 
of  treading  them  out  by  the  feet  of  horses,  shew  that  the 
Long  Islanders  have  yet  something  to  learn  in  the  way  of 
dispatching  their  agricultural  business. 

The  high  price  of  land  prevents  emigrants  from  settling 
here.  The  near  neighbourhood  of  a  market,  and  the  salu- 
brity derived  from  dry  land,  together  with  sea  breezes, 
might,  notwithstanding,  form  sufficient  inducements  to 
many,  who  would  pursue  their  immediate  advantage; 
but  those  who  look  forward  to  the  future  prospects  of  a 
family,  commonly  prefer  some  part  of  the  back  country. 

July  24.  Saw  the  works  in  progress  at  Fort  Diamond.8 
This  is  a  large  battery  raised  on  a  shoal  in  the  narrows, 

•  Fort  Diamond,  later  renamed  Fort  Lafayette,  was  the  largest  of  the  forts 
planned  in  1812  for  the  defense  of  New  York  harbor.  It  became  famous  as  a 
political  state  prison  during  the  War  of  Secession,  and  was  then  protected  by 
seventy-five  heavy  mounted  guns. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  43 

about  200  yards  off  the  western  point  of  Long  Island; 
most  of  the  workmen  are  British. 

[19]  Crossed  the  Narrows  to  Staten  Island.  The  fortifi- 
cations are  extensive  and  commanding.  The  garrison 
consists  of  one  man ! 

25.  Left  New  Utrecht,  where  a  residence  of  nine  days 
has  completely  cured  my  blotched  face.  The  climate  is 
delightful,  and  I  have  entertained  a  very  favourable 
opinion  of  the  people. 

The  emigrant  who  was  removed  sick  to  Brooklyn,  is 
dead;  thus  by  far  the  finest  young  man  of  our  party,  has 
fallen  the  first  victim  to  the  climate:  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  of  a  mild  and  cheerful  disposition,  and  of  a  manly 
figure,  and  who  had  gained  our  universal  esteem.  Of  a 
family  consisting  of  six  persons,  he  was  the  only  one  who 
was  able  to  endure  the  fatigues  of  clearing  away  the 
forests.  The  feelings  of  the  survivors  are  deeply 
wounded,  and  the  tender  attachment  that  pledged  his 
early  return  to  Scotland  is  blasted. 

I  returned  to  New  York,  and  shall  make  some  more  re- 
marks on  the  city.  The  population,  at  the  census  of  181 6, 
was  100,619,  of  which  6985  were  aliens,  9774  free  people  of 
colour,  and  617  slaves.  It  is  expected  that  the  enumera- 
tion of  1820  will  disclose  a  vast  increase. 

Literature  does  not  stand  on  such  a  broad  basis  here  as 
in  Europe.  Printing,  particularly  of  newspapers,  is  car- 
ried on  to  a  considerable  extent:  but  the  style  of  many 
communications  and  advertisements  which  appear  in 
them,  shews  that  the  public  are  not  far  advanced  in  taste. 
Particular  pieces  are  elegant.  Many  English  publica- 
tions are  reprinted,  frequently  with  the  addition  of  some 
introduction,  notes,  or  an  appendix.  For  the  additional 
matter  a  patent  is  procured,  which  I  suppose  has  gener- 


44  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ally  the  practical  effect  of  securing  an  exclusive  privilege 
for  the  whole  work.  Some  of  Lord  Byron's  latest  pro- 
ductions, the  Memoirs  of  [20]  the  Fudge  Family,10  and  the 
Brownie  of  Bodsbeck,11  are  exhibited  in  the  windows  of  the 
principal  book-sellers.  When  I  left  Edinburgh  the  last 
mentioned  book  was  not  published. 

The  Kaleidoscope  of  Dr.  Brewster  is  here  fabricated  in 
a  rude  style,  and  in  quantities  so  great,  that  it  is  given  as 
a  plaything  to  children.12  An  artist  informed  me  that  a 
journeyman  of  his  proposes  to  take  a  patent  for  an  im- 
provement he  had  made  on  it. 

The  public  museum  in  this  city  is  a  recent  collection. 
An  Indian  mummy  from  the  great  saltpetre  cave  in  Ken- 
tucky, a  bear  from  Warwick  mountains,  about  sixty  miles 
north  of  this  place,  which  weighed  700  pounds,  and  an  im- 
mensely large  turtle,  are  as  yet  the  most  interesting  objects. 

The  town  hall  is  a  splendid  building.  Lightness,  and 
an  apparent  want  of  solidity  in  its  parts,  deprive  it  in 
some  measure  of  the  august  effect  essential  to  sublime 
grandeur.  The  front  and  columns  are  made  of  white 
marble  of  a  foliated  texture.  The  interior  staircase  is 
both  large  and  magnificent.  It  is  circular,  and  furnished 
with  two  elegant  flights  of  steps  that  wind  in  contrary  di- 
rections, so  that  the  one  crosses  the  other  alternately. 
Upon  the  whole,  it  displays  that  elegance  which  becomes 
an  edifice  devoted  to  the  administration  of  justice. 

10  A  series  of  metrical  epistles  purporting  to  be  written  in  Paris  by  Thomas 
Moore. —  Ed. 

11 ' '  The  Brownie  of  Blednoch,"  a  folk-lore  ballad,  is  the  best  known  of  William 
Nicholson's  poems.  He  was  a  Galloway  peddler  (1782-1849),  who  composed 
verses  as  he  travelled  from  town  to  town. —  Ed. 

13  Sir  David  Brewster  (1781-1868),  experimental  philosopher  and  editor  of 
the  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  invented  the  kaleidoscope  about  181 6.  Through- 
out these  letters,  Flint  portrays  large  acquaintance  with  the  writings  of  the  more 
noted  of  his  fellow-countrymen. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  45 

When  I  visited  the  Court  of  Sessions,  the  judge  on  the 
bench  appeared  a  plain  active-looking  gentleman,  not 
distinguished  by  any  robes  of  office.  The  business  on 
hand  was  the  taking  of  evidence  in  the  case  of  a  man  who 
had  left  a  vault  open  during  the  night.  A  person  passing 
in  the  street  happened  to  fall  into  the  chasm,  and  raised 
an  action  of  damages,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  received 
bodily  hurt.  The  questions  put  were  numerous  [21]  and 
minute,  the  witnesses,  notwithstanding,  went  on  in  giving 
lengthened  details,  embracing  particulars  not  asked,  and 
foreign  to  the  subject.  They  seemed  in  no  respect  em- 
barrassed by  the  dignity  of  the  court.  The  whole  of  the 
witnesses  were  present,  and  each  heard  the  examinations 
which  preceded  his  own. 

The  Washington,  a  new  ship  of  war,  mounting  96  guns, 
is  much  visited  at  present.13  The  seamen  are  a  party  of 
stout  healthy  looking  men,  dressed  in  striped  cottons,  very 
suitable  to  the  present  hot  weather,  and  cleanly  in  the  ex- 
treme. The  decoration,  cleanliness  of  the  ship,  and  the 
order  that  prevailed  aboard,  can  scarcely  be  surpassed. 
Diffident,  however,  as  I  am  in  forming  an  opinion  on 
any  naval  affair,  I  cannot  avoid  the  impression  that  a 
vessel  of  such  strength,  and  with  such  a  crew  of  freemen, 
must  be  an  overmatch  for  any  other  vessel  constructed  and 
manned  as  European  ships  of  war  were  wont  to  be. 

The  steam-frigate  is  a  novelty  in  naval  architecture. 
The  vessel  is  bomb-proof,  impelled  by  a  powerful  steam- 
engine  ;  is  said  to  be  furnished  with  apparatus  for  heating 
ball,  for  throwing  hot  water,  for  moving  a  sort  of  arms  to 

13  The  "Washington"  was  built  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  in  1814, 
being  the  second  ship  of  seventy-four  guns  (not  ninety-six,  as  Flint  states) 
launched  for  the  United  States  navy.  She  was  the  flagship  of  Commodore 
Chauncey  in  the  Mediterranean,  from  1816  to  1818.  In  1843  she  was  broken 
up  in  New  York  harbor. —  Ed. 


46  •  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

prevent  boarding,  and  to  carry  submarine  guns  of  one 
hundred  pounds  shot.14 

The  steam-boat,  Chancellor  Livingstone,  is  the  largest 
and  finest  vessel  of  the  kind  perhaps  ever  built;  she  is  526 
tons  burden,  length  165  feet,  and  breadth  50  feet.  The 
power  of  the  engine  is  estimated  as  being  equal  to  that 
of  eighty  horses.  The  boiler  is  of  copper,  and  weighs 
twenty  tons.  The  cabin  unites  something  like  the  hori- 
zontal dimensions  of  a  church,  and  a  degree  of  elegance  not 
exceeded  by  any  floating  apartment.  The  Chancellor 
sails  between  New  York  and  Albany.15 

[22]  August  3.  The  theatre  has  some  degree  of  resem- 
blance in  its  plan  to  that  at  Edinburgh,  and  is  attended  by 
a  genteelly-dressed  audience.  To-night  the  celebrated 
Mr.  Incledon  completed  his  engagement.16  He  was  highly 
applauded.  The  song,  "  Scots  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace 
bled, ' '  was  alike  cheered  by  Scots  and  Americans. 

During  this  season  of  the  year,  most  people  wear  light 
cotton  clothes;  the  jacket  is  in  many  cases  striped,  and  the 
pantaloons  of  Indian  nankin.  A  broad-brimmed  straw- 
hat  is  commonly  used,  to  prevent  the  face  from  being 
scorched  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  Draymen,  and  other 
labouring  people,  wear  a  sort  of  frock  or  hunting  shirt  of 
tow-cloth,  that  hangs  down  to  the  knees.  A  tall,  thin, 
swarthy-countenanced   man,  with  a    frock,  surmounted 

14  This  was  the  '  *  Fulton,"  the  first  steamship  in  the  American  navy.  Robert 
Fulton  directed  her  construction,  and  she  made  her  trial  trip  June  i,  1815,  a  few 
months  after  his  death.  Her  naval  service  was  unimportant.  While  em- 
ployed as  a  receiving-ship  at  the  Brooklyn  docks  she  blew  up,  June,  1829. —  Ed. 

15  The  ' '  Chancellor  Livingstone,"  built  under  Fulton's  direction,  and  named 
in  honor  of  his  friend  and  patron,  was  completed  in  181 6.  She  was  one  hundred 
and  twenty-five  tons  larger  than  any  boat  then  on  the  Hudson.  Her  average 
speed  was  eight  and  a  half  miles  an  hour.  In  1832  she  was  put  on  the  route 
between  Boston  and  Portland,  being  broken  up  at  Portland  two  years  later. —  Ed. 

*•  Benjamin  Charles  Incledon  (1764-1826)^  famous  English  vocalist. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  47 

by  a  broad  straw  hat,  is  a  figure  somewhat  new  to  the 
Briton. 

One  of  the  greatest  inconsistencies  among  a  people  pro- 
fessing liberty  and  equality,  is  the  degradation  imposed 
on  people  of  colour.  In  the  church  of  the  most  popular 
preacher  of  New  York,  I  looked  in  vain  for  a  black  face. 
There  is  a  congregation  of  blacks  in  town,  who  have  a 
preacher  of  the  same  colour,  where  (it  is  said)  a  white  man 
would  be  equally  singular.  Blacks  are  not  admitted  into 
the  public  baths;  and,  at  some  places  of  amusement  the 
hand-bills  have  a  note  of  this  kind,  N.  B .  ' '  A  place  is  pro- 
vided for  people  of  colour. n  I  do  not  recollect  of  having 
seen  or  heard  of  a  black  person  who  is  in  any  degree 
eminent  in  society,  or  who  has  acquired  reputation  in  any 
mechanical  or  mercantile  business.  This  depression 
appears  to  be  produced  partly  by  the  aversion  with  which 
the  white  face  looks  on  the  black  one,  and  partly  by  bad 
education  and  habits.  Something  more  than  mere  eman- 
cipation is  required,  a  moral  change,  [23]  affecting  both 
the  black  and  the  white,  must  take  place,  before  the  con- 
dition of  the  negro  can  be  completely  ameliorated. 

The  churches  of  New  York  are  fifty-three  in  number, 
and  are  occupied  by  seventeen  religious  sectaries.  None 
of  these  are  peculiarly  privileged  by  law,  and  none  denied 
the  common  protection  of  citizens. 

August  4.  Now  when  about  to  leave  New  York,  I  feel 
a  pleasure  in  stating  my  conviction  of  the  civilization  and 
moral  honesty  of  the  people.  In  the  former  respect,  they 
may  exult  in  any  comparison  with  the  mass  of  many 
European  cities.  And  in  regard  to  the  latter,  I  have  heard 
of  no  recent  instance  of  house-breaking  or  riot.  In  hot 
weather,  people  leave  their  windows  open  during  the  night, 
and  street  doors  are  seldom  closed  during  the  whole  of  the 


48  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

evening;  the  inhabitants  not  thinking  their  hats  and  um- 
brellas in  much  danger.  Such  traits  are  perfectly  un- 
equivocal. 

LETTER  in 

Journey  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  —  Remarks  on 
the  country  passed  through  —  Notices  of  companions  — 
Their  conversation  by  the  way  —  Observations  on  Phil- 
adelphia —  Institutions  —  Manufactures  —  People. 

Philadelphia,  December  19,  1818. 

This  letter  will  give  you  the  details  of  my  journey  from 
New  York  to  Philadelphia,  and  some  particulars  with  re- 
gard to  the  latter  city.17 

[24]  August  5.  Got  aboard  of  the  Olive-Branch  steam- 
boat for  New  Brunswick.  This  is  a  large  vessel,  wrought 
by  an  engine  of  forty-five  horses'  power.  She  may  at  once 
be  pronounced  elegant  and  commodious.  The  passen- 
gers dine  on  board. 

In  a  company  so  large,  the  traveller  has  it  in  his  power 
to  select  the  person  with  whom  he  would  enter  into  con- 
versation. The  individual  I  fell  in  with,  on  this  occasion, 
was  a  mercantile  gentleman  from  England.  He  seemed 
to  me  a  man  of  a  good  disposition,  and  one  who  possessed 
considerable  knowledge  of  the  principal  towns,  and  of  the 
different  ways  of  transacting  business  in  the  United  States. 
The  American  character,  according  to  his  report,  is  by  no 
means  a  good  one.  He  expressed  himself  as  completely 
tired  of  the  country,  and  proposed  returning  to  England. 
He  told  me  that  he  had  met  with  considerable  losses  by 
villanous  insolvencies.    His  account,  instead  of  convin- 

17  The  author's  route  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia  was  by  boat  to  New 
Brunswick,  thence  by  stage  to  Trenton  on  the  Delaware,  where  boat  was  taken 
for  Philadelphia.  Stages,  by  this  time,  had  practically  ceased  running  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  49 

cing  me  that  the  Americans  were  sinners  above  all  others, 
just  shewed  me  that  he  was  a  good-natured,  credulous 
man,  and  that  he  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  several  art- 
ful rogues;  a  class,  it  would  seem,  not  wanting  in  America. 

The  land  on  both  sides  of  the  strait,  between  Staten 
Island  and  the  main  land,  is  light  and  sandy,  in  some  spots 
almost  sterile.  People  in  boats  are  busy  with  long  wooden 
tongs,  resembling  forceps,  taking  up  clams  from  the  bot- 
tom, in  six  or  seven  feet  of  water. 

The  land  on  both  margins  of  the  Raritan  is  very  low  and 
flat,  covered  with  a  rank  growth  of  reeds.  These  are  cut 
for  the  cattle,  and  form  a  coarse  but  a  very  bulky  crop. 
The  swamps,  being  liable  to  inundation,  are  not  made  to 
yield  any  other  herbage  than  their  spontaneous  produce. 

[25]  About  four  miles  below  New  Brunswick,  the  red 
sandstone  is  met  with.  It  is  the  first  rock  toward  the  coast, 
the  interval  being  high  alluvial  land,  containing  vegetables 
and  the  bones  of  marine  animals  of  tribes  still  existing; 
facts  that  establish  without  a  doubt  that  the  ocean  has 
receded. 

From  New  Brunswick  to  Trenton,  travellers  are  con- 
veyed by  four-horse  coaches.  Six  of  these  wait  the  arrival  of 
the  steam-boat.  In  one  of  these  I  took  my  seat,  and  found 
that  only  two  gentlemen  were  to  be  along  with  me;  one  of 
them  an  American  who  had  travelled  in  Britain,  and  the 
other  an  Englishman,  who  had  just  been  out  on  an  exten- 
sive tour  in  the  United  States.  Both  appear  men  of  talent 
and  education ;  the  one  a  Virginian  lawyer,  and  the  other  a 
person  well  acquainted  with  the  state  of  science  and  man- 
ufacture in  his  own  country;  they  are  equally  devoted  to 
the  representative  form  of  government.  Their  only  differ- 
ence of  opinion  arose  from  drawing  a  comparison  between 
the  national  characters  of  the  two  countries.    The  Ameri- 


50  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  o 

can  claimed  the  superiority,  in  toto,  while  the  Englishman 
asserted  the  higher  excellence  of  the  literary,  the  scientific, 
and  the  mechanical  attainments  of  Britain;  but,  at  the 
same  time  admitted,  with  apparent  candour,  the  superior 
dexterity  of  Americans  in  traffic,  and  that,  taken  in  a  body, 
they  are  without  some  of  the  ruder  qualities  of  John  Bull. 
Thus,  in  one  day,  I  have  heard  two  intelligent  Englishmen 
discuss  the  character  of  the  American  people,  and  each 
draw  opposite  conclusions:  a  fact,  which  proves  how 
cautious  we  ought  to  be  in  forming  an  estimate  of  a  com- 
munity; as  we  are  in  continual  danger  of  judging  of  the 
great  stock  from  the  small,  and  it  may  happen  that  an 
unfair  sample  may  come  within  the  narrow  limits  of  a  sin- 
gle person's  observation. 

[26]  The  land  between  New  Brunswick  and  Princeton 
is  chiefly  of  a  poor  sand.  The  road  is  composed  of  the 
same  material,  with  plank  bridges  over  ravines,  where  most 
of  the  streams  are  now  dried  up.  The  woods,  to  a  Briton, 
seem  more  remarkable  for  their  height,  than  for  the 
diameter  of  the  trees.  The  stems,  even  by  the  road  side, 
where  many  are  felled,  stand  closely  together,  and  then- 
tops  form  a  continued  canopy,  that  sheds  a  gloom  over  the 
surface  of  the  ground.  When  proximity  to  the  two  great- 
est cities  in  the  Union  is  considered,  it  seems  surprising  that 
the  arm  of  man  has  effected  so  little.  The  farms  by  the 
road  side  are  neither  numerous,  nor  are  the  cleared  patches 
large.  The  passenger  has  no  way  of  knowing  how  the 
country  is  peopled  or  improved  beyond  the  first  clearing; 
and  where  no  opening  occurs,  he  cannot  see  the  light  more 
than  about  200  yards  into  the  woods.  Rail  fences,  how- 
ever, and  cattle  amongst  the  trees,  indicate  that  the  whole 
is  appropriated. 

The  cows  are  small,  and  of  little  value;  and  the  few 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  51 

sheep  which  I  have  seen,  are  long-legged  and  thin,  per- 
haps the  worst  breed  in  existence. 

Princeton  College  is  a  large  brick  house,  situated  in  a 
grass  field.  The  edifice  has  a  retired,  if  not  a  gloomy 
appearance.  It  was  here  that  Dr.  Wotherspoon,18  the 
author  of  the  '  *  Characteristics  of  Scottish  Clergy, ' '  found 
an  asylum,  and  the  means  of  prosecuting  useful  labours. 
By  the  way  side  stands  a  row  of  very  large  weeping  wil- 
lows, that  are  highly  ornamental  to  this  small  town.  Their 
long  slender  twigs  hang  down  almost  perpendicularly,  and 
wave  with  every  wind,  displaying,  as  it  were,  a  sort  of 
vegetable  drapery. 

From  Princeton  onward,  the  land  is  much  better  than 
that  observed  to  the  north,  and  the  [27]  surface  is  finely 
diversified,  but  dusk  prevented  me  from  seeing  a  part 
of  the  country  next  to  Trenton. 

The  arrival  of  six  four-horse  coaches  produced  consid- 
erable stir  in  the  Inn  at  Trenton.  No  sooner  had  the 
passengers  entered,  than  a  pile  of  trunks  and  portmanteaus 
was  reared  in  the  bar-room,  that  would  make  a  good 
figure  in  the  warehouse  of  a  wholesale  merchant.  The 
party  at  supper  was  very  large.  There  being  three  lines 
of  conveyance  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  the 
aggregate  of  the  intercourse  must  be  great.  Betwixt  New 
Brunswick  and  this  place,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles, 

18  James  Witherspoon,  born  in  Haddingtonshore,  Scotland,  in  1722,  was  a  de- 
scendant of  John  Knox.  Graduating  from  Edinburgh  University,  and  receiv- 
ing ordination  as  a  Presbyterian  minister,  in  1768  he  accepted  an  invitation  to 
become  president  of  Princeton  College,  and  brought  with  him  a  considerable 
addition  to  the  college  library.  From  the  first  he  took  an  active  part  in  the  Rev- 
olutionary War;  as  member  of  the  provincial  assembly,  he  assisted  in  over- 
throwing the  royal  governor;  as  member  of  the  continental  congress  he  signed 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  aided  in  initiating  several  important  legis- 
lative measures.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  he  retired  to  his  farm  near  Prince- 
ton, dying  there  in  September,  1794. —  Ed. 


52  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

we  have  not  seen  a  single  pedestrian.  The  heat  of  the 
weather  may  in  some  measure  account  for  this. 

Trenton  is  beautifully  situated  at  the  head  of  the  tide 
water  of  the  river  Delaware.  The  orchards  are  luxuriant, 
and  the  pasture  grounds  richer  than  any  that  I  have 
hitherto  seen  in  the  country. 

August  6.  Trenton  is  celebrated  by  one  of  the  most 
dexterous  feats  of  generalship  on  record.  I  shall  take  the 
liberty  of  stating  some  particulars  of  the  affair.  On  the 
1st  of  January,  1777,  the  term  of  enlistment  amongst  the 
American  troops  expired,  and  that  day  brought  on  a  dis- 
solution of  the  best  part  of  the  army.  General  Howe, 
aware  of  the  occurrence,  pressed  forward  on  the  2d,  with 
an  army  vastly  superior.  The  head  of  their  column 
arrived  at  Trenton  about  four  o'clock,  and  attempted  to 
cross  Sanpink  creek,  which  runs  through  the  town,  but 
finding  the  fords  guarded,  halted  and  kindled  their  fires. 
The  American  army  was  drawn  up  on  the  other  side  of  the 
creek.  In  this  situation  the  latter  remained  till  dark,  can- 
nonading the  enemy,  and  receiving  the  fire  of  their  field 
pieces. 

[28]  Washington  having  discovered  that  the  enemy  de- 
signed to  surround  his  little  army,  ordered  the  baggage  to 
be  removed  after  dark.  At  twelve  o'clock,  having  re- 
newed his  fires,  he  decamped  with  his  army,  unperceived 
by  the  enemy,  and  marched  against  Princeton  by  a  cir- 
cuitous route,  where  he  arrived  by  the  rising  of  the  sunt 
defeated  the  troops  there,  and  captured  their  stores.19 

The  Delaware  is  a  delightful  river,  with  many  mag- 
nificent windings.  The  convex  shore  of  one  extensive 
curve,  is  so  imposing,  that  it  is  called  Point-no-Point,  an 
apparent  cape  being  always  in  sight,  but  which  recedes  as 

19  Washington's  Letters,  vol.  ii,  page  4,  Lond.  1795. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  53 

the  observer  advances.  The  grounds  adjacent  to  the 
river  are  flat,  and  covered  with  a  rich  verdure;  but  the 
beach  is  of  a  height  sufficient  to  prevent  a  person  from 
seeing  far  inland  from  the  river.  Many  large  farm  houses 
are  to  be  seen,  with  extensive  orchards,  and  beautiful 
weeping  willows  adjoining.  The  last,  form  large  spread- 
ing masses  without  any  erect  or  principal  top,  the  main 
or  leading  branches  rear  themselves  upwards,  after 
acquiring  a  considerable  degree  of  strength;  and  the  shoots 
immediately  younger,  are  elegantly  bent,  as  if  in  the  act 
of  getting  erect;  while  the  youngest  of  all  are  completely 
pendulous.    The  whole  is  singularly  picturesque. 

On  approaching  Philadelphia,  I  felt  disappointed  in 
seeing  the  shipping  so  very  inferior  to  that  at  New  York; 
and  the  houses  fronting  the  river  are  old  and  irregularly 
placed,  so  that  the  idea  of  a  port  declining  in  trade  immedi- 
ately occurred. 

Philadelphia  is  situated  between  the  rivers  Delaware 
[29]  and  Schuylkill.  The  streets  are  laid  off  agreeably 
to  the  cardinal  points,  and  cross  one  another  at  right 
angles,  the  principal  ones  running  in  the  east  and  west 
direction,  crossing  the  neck  of  land  between  the  two  rivers. 

The  streets,  as  at  New  York,  are  lined  with  trees;  they 
are  cleaner  kept,  and  are  wider,  and  more  regular,  so  that 
gaseous  exhalations  are  much  less  felt  in  them  than  in  the 
other  city.  Most  of  the  houses  are  of  brick,  and  many  of 
them  have  the  doors  and  windows  surrounded  by  white 
marble.    Several  public  edifices  are  built  of  that  material. 

August  7.  The  general  aspect  of  the  city  is  more  pleas- 
ant, and  a  freer  circulation  of  air  is  felt  than  in  New  York; 
of  course  the  natural  inference  is,  that  Philadelphia  must 
be  the  more  salubrious  of  the  two.  Dr.  Mease,  of  the 
American  Philosophical  Society,  has  deduced  the  same 


54  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

conclusion  from  the  bills  of  mortality.20  The  daily  aver- 
age of  deaths  being  5^3  in  this  place,  and  6^  at  New 
York.  At  the  time  this  computation  was  made,  the  pop- 
ulation of  Philadelphia  was  the  greater  of  the  two,  con- 
sequently something  more  is  to  be  allowed  in  favour  of  the 
relative  healthfulness  of  Philadelphia. 

The  doctor  has  also  compared  the  mortalities  of  Phila- 
delphia and  Liverpool,  and  it  appears  that  the  deaths  in 
the  former  city  are,  to  those  in  the  latter,  as  33  to  50.  The 
comparison  was  made  between  the  number  of  deaths  in 
1810  for  Philadelphia,  and  on  another  year  for  Liverpool. 
This  must  have  been  occasioned  from  a  want  of  data  apply- 
ing to  the  same  year  in  both  places.  My  very  short 
acquaintance  with  the  doctor  gives  me  the  utmost  confi- 
dence in  his  candour,  and  in  the  accuracy  of  his  calcula- 
tions. 

[30]  It  is  not  to  be  kept  out  of  view,  that  the  mortality 
in  Philadelphia  is  considerably  greater  in  summer  than  in 
winter,  the  deaths  in  August,  for  example,  may  be  fairly 
stated  at  twice  the  number  in  December.  This  fact,  not 
to  mention  the  epidemical  diseases  with  which  Philadel- 
phia is  sometimes  visited,  must  give  a  decided  preference 
to  Liverpool. 

The  religious  sects  of  Philadelphia  are  eighteen  in  num- 
ber; they  have  thirty-four  places  of  worship.  The  whole 
may  be  exhibited  thus:  Swedish,  three  churches;  Quak- 
ers, three;  Free  Quakers,  one;  Episcopal,  three;  Baptist, 


20  John  Mease,  a  wealthy  and  philanthropic  Philadelphian,  was  born  in  177 1. 
Although  a  graduate  of  the  Medical  College  of  the  University  of  Pennsylvania, 
he  did  not  practice  regularly,  but  devoted  himself  to  literary  and  scientific  pur- 
suits. In  association  with  David  Rittenhouse  and  other  members  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  he  was  engaged  in  numerous  undertakings  for  the  betterment 
of  the  city.  His  Picture  of  Philadelphia,  published  in  181 1,  was  for  many  years 
the  best  travellers'  guide  thereof. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  55 

one;  Presbyterian,  two;  Catholic,  four;  German  Lutheran, 
two;  German  Calvinist,  two;  Associate  Reformed  Church, 
one;  Moravians,  one;  Associate  Church,  (Antiburghers,) 
one;  Presbyterian  Covenanters,  one;  Methodists,  four, 
(two  for  whites  and  two  for  blacks;)  Universalists,  one; 
Unitarians,  one;  Independents,  one;  Jewish  Synagogues, 
two. 

There  are  four  state  law  courts  in  the  city;  four  Banks, 
and  eleven  Insurance  offices. 

The  other  institutions  would  be  too  tedious  to  enumer- 
ate separately,  probably  the  following  includes  most  of 
them.  Thirteen  charitable  institutions,  eight  free  school 
societies,  three  patriotic  societies,  about  twenty  mutual 
benefit  societies,  five  associations  for  the  relief  of  foreigners 
and  their  descendants,  seven  literary  institutions,  three 
libraries,  the  American  Philosophical  Society,21  the  Society 
of  Artists,  the  Pennsylvanian  Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  and 
a  museum  of  natural  history.22 

21  The  American  Philosophical  Society,  the  oldest  scientific  association  in 
America,  was  organized  by  Franklin  in  1743.  In  1769  it  was  combined  with  the 
American  Society  for  Promoting  Useful  Knowledge,  and  from  that  date  (except 
for  a  few  years  during  the  Revolutionary  War)  has  never  failed  to  meet  regu- 
larly. Among  its  presidents  may  be  noted  Franklin,  Jefferson,  Rittenhouse, 
and  Caspar  Wistar. 

The  Society  of  Artists,  formed  in  18 10,  to  establish  a  school  of  drawing  and 
hold  an  annual  exhibition  of  foreign  and  American  paintings,  was  dissolved  soon 
after  Flint's  visit  to  Philadelphia. 

The  Academy  of  Fine  Arts  was  organized  in  1805,  largely  through  the  efforts 
of  Charles  Wilson  Peale.  The  following  year  a  building  was  occupied,  and 
the  first  exhibition  opened  in  181 1,  in  conjunction  with  the  Society  of  Artists. 
The  Academy  has  ceased  to  hold  exhibitions,  but  maintains  a  good  permanent 
collection. 

The  Museum,  opened  by  Peale  at  his  residence  in  1784,  contained  for  the 
most  part  portraits  of  Revolutionary  heroes  painted  by  himself.  When  trans- 
ferred to  Independence  Hall  (1802),  it  included  a  large  collection  of  birds, 
insects,  and  the  implements  of  primitive  men.  The  Philadelphia  Museum  Com- 
pany acquired  it  in  1 821;  but  later  the  collection  was  sold  and  dispersed. —  Ed. 

23  Dr.  Mease's  Picture  of  Philadelphia. —  Flint. 


56  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  American  Philosophical  Society  meets  frequently, 
and  is  well  attended.  When  I  visited  the  institution, 
three  of  the  foreign  ministers  were  [31]  present.  Pro- 
fessor Cooper 23  read  very  interesting  papers  on  the  bilious 
fever,  on  a  new  mordant  to  be  used  in  dyeing,  and  on  a 
new  test  for  detecting  arsenic  where  administered  as  a 
poison.  There  is  still  zeal  and  talent  in  the  asso- 
ciation once  distinguished  by  a  Franklin  and  a  Ritten- 
house.24 

The  Franklean  library  contains  about  24,000  volumes; 
almost  every  scientific  work  of  merit  may  be  seen.  Stran- 
gers are  allowed  to  read  and  even  to  write  in  the  great  hall. 
On  leaving  a  small  deposit  they  may  carry  books  out  of 
the  library.  The  building  belongs  to  the  institution,  and 
has  a  herculean  bust  of  the  founder  over  the  entrance; 
and  the  following  lines,  by  Alexander  Wilson  25  the  orni- 
thologist, hang  in  a  frame  in  the  great  room. 

s  Thomas  Cooper,  born  in  London  in  1759,  was  eminent  both  as  a  lawyer  and 
a  scientist.  Educated  at  Oxford,  he  practiced  law,  first  in  England,  and  after 
1795  in  Northumberland,  Pennsylvania.  Upon  a  visit  to  France  (about  1792), 
he  studied  chemistry,  and  continued  his  researches  in  that  science  after  coming 
to  America.  Upon  being  removed,  for  arbitrary  conduct,  from  a  judgeship 
(181 1),  he  was  appointed  professor  of  chemistry  at  Dickinson  College,  later  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  in  1820  became  president  of  the  college  of 
South  Carolina.  At  the  time  of  his  death  (1840)  he  was  engaged  in  revising 
the  statutes  of  the  latter  state,  and  in  writing  pamphlets  in  favor  of  state 
rights. —  Ed. 

**  For  a  brief  biography  of  David  Rittenhouse,  see  A.  Michaux's  Travels, 
volume  iii  of  our  series,  note  75. —  Ed. 

n  Alexander  Wilson  was  for  many  years  a  weaver  and  poet  in  Paisley,  Scot- 
land. Trouble  breaking  out  between  the  weavers  and  masters,  he  emigrated 
to  Philadelphia  in  1794,  becoming  in  turn  weaver,  school-teacher,  and  peddler. 
In  1802  the  scientist  John  Bartram  became  interested  in  Wilson's  talents,  and 
gave  systematic  direction  to  his  natural  taste  for  ornithology,  to  which  he  de- 
voted the  remainder  of  his  life.  He  published  his  first  volume  of  American 
Ornithology  in  1808,  and  had  nearly  completed  nine  volumes  before  his  death, 
in  1813. —  Ed 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  57 

' '  Ye  who  delight  through  learning's  paths  to  roam, 
Who  deign  to  enter  this  devoted  dome; 
By  silent  awe  and  contemplation  led, 
Survey  these  wonders  of  the  illustrious  dead ! 
The  lights  of  every  age  —  of  every  clime, 
The  fruits  of  science,  and  the  spoils  of  time, 
Stand  here  arranged,  obedient  to  your  nod; 
Here  feast  with  sages,  and  give  thanks  to  God. 
Next  thanks  to  him;  that  venerable  sage, 
His  country's  boast, —  the  glory  of  the  age ! 
Immortal  Franklin,  whose  unwearied  mind, 
Still  sought  out  every  good  for  all  mankind; 
Search'd  every  science,  studious  still  to  know, 
To  make  men  virtuous,  and  to  keep  them  so. — 
Living,  he  reared  with  generous  friends  this  scene; 
And  dead,  still  stands  without  to  welcome  in." 

The  Atheneum  is  another  excellent  institution.26  Here 
a  great  number  of  American  and  foreign  newspapers  are 
read,  and  there  is  also  a  collection  of  the  reviews,  periodi- 
cal publications,  and  scientific  journals,  of  Britain  and 
America.    Strangers  are  introduced  by  the  subscribers. 

The  United  British  Emigrant  Society  meets  frequently, 
and  its  business  in  conducted  with  zeal  [32]  and  ability. 
A  book  is  kept  open,  in  which  are  inserted  notices  of 
labourers,  &c.  &c.  wanted,  with  the  names  and  residences 
of  the  persons  to  whom  they  are  to  apply.  On  looking 
over  this  record,  I  observed  that  many  of  the  situations 
offered  were  in  the  western  country.  Although  the  mem- 
bers of  this  society  merit  the  utmost  credit  for  their  benevo- 
lent exertions,  the  most  cautious  strangers  will  always 
hesitate  to  undertake  long  journies,  incurring  a  great  ex- 
pense, the  risk  of  meeting  only  with  a  trifling  employment, 
and  that  of  cheapening  their  labour  by  the  sacrifices  which 

* A  public  reading-room  called  the  Atheneum  was  established  by  private  sub- 
scription in  1814.  Ten  years  later  it  contained  3,300  volumes,  including  prom- 
inent foreign  and  American  reviews.  Rooms  were  rented  from  the  American 
Philosophical  Society  until  1847,  when  the  Atheneum  building  was  erected. —  Ed. 


58  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

they  make.  Artifices  of  this  kind  are  not  to  be  imputed 
to  the  society. 

The  museum  contains  a  considerable  collection  of  ob- 
jects; and  among  the  rest  a  skeleton  of  an  entire  mam- 
moth. Around  the  upper  part  of  the  wall  are  arranged 
the  portraits  of  several  hundreds  of  the  personages  who 
have  distinguished  themselves  in  the  revolution,  or  in  the 
legislature  of  America.  The  design  is  praiseworthy,  but 
the  execution  of  the  pictures  is  bad. 

The  state  prison  does  honour  to  the  jurisprudence  of  the 
country.  The  culprit  is  not  made  a  burden  on  the  com- 
munity, but  is  put  to  work,  and  the  first  of  his  earnings 
applied  to  his  support,  a  part  of  the  remainder  is  given  to 
him  at  his  dismissal;  by  this  means  he  is  not  under  the 
necessity  of  resorting  immediately  to  robbery  or  theft. 
Habits  of  industry  are  acquired,  and  trades  learned,  by 
persons  who  previously  were  pests  to  society.  The  strict 
order,  and  even  silence,  that  is  maintained  in  the  estab- 
lishment, is  conceived  to  be  the  peculiarity  that  has  pro- 
duced the  effects  that  distinguish  it  above  every  institution 
of  the  kind.  The  provisions  given  to  the  inmates  are 
said  to  be  plentiful  and  good,  though  furnished  at  the  low 
rate  of  [33]  fourteen  cents,  or  about  seven-pence-half- 
penny English,  per  day. 

Philadelphia  does  not  abound  in  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments. The  predominance  of  British  goods  has  shut 
up  many  workshops  that  were  employed  during  the  late 
war.  Paper  is  manufactured  in  great  quantities  in  Penn- 
sylvania. Founderies  for  coarse  cast  iron  articles  are 
numerous.  In  town  there  are  two  manufactories  of  lead 
shot.  Printing  is  carried  on  to  a  considerable  extent, 
and  executed  in  a  superb  style.  It  is  said  that  one  of  the 
late  Edinburgh  novels  was  here  set  up  in  types  in  one 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  59 

day.  The  quarto  edition  of  Joel  Barlow's  Columbiad  is 
an  unrivalled  specimen  of  printing.  The  types  were  cast 
by  Messrs.  Binnie  and  Ronaldsons,  who,  by  their  skill 
and  individual  exertions,  have  saved  the  United  States 
from  importing  these  essential  literary  implements.  Mr. 
Melish's  27  geographical  establishment,  is  another  promi- 
nent concern.  He  is  continually  embodying  the  most 
recent  government  surveys  of  the  interior,  into  the  general 
maps  of  the  country.  At  Lehigh  Falls,  on  the  Schuylkill, 
there  is  a  mill  for  cutting  brads,  which  produces  no  less 
than  two  hundred  in  a  minute.  Philadelphia  is  in  various 
respects  well  adapted  to  manufacture;  if  the  facilities 
which  it  presents  for  its  advancement  are  neglected,  the 
city  must  decline,  as  the  trade  of  New  York  and  Baltimore 
is  making  rapid  progress.  The  new  road  from  the  latter 
city  to  the  Ohio,28  and  the  extension  of  carriage,  by  steam 
boats,  through  the  Mississippi  and  the  Ohio,  are  all  cir- 
cumstances which  tend  to  supersede  Philadelphia  as  a 
market  and  as  a  thoroughfare. 

At  present,  vast  quantities  of  English  goods  are  selling 
by  auction  in  the  ports  of  the  United  States.  New  York 
is  the  chief  mart  in  this  way.  Merchants  from  the  coun- 
try, attend  sometimes  these  [34]  sales  for  many  days,  and 
even  for  weeks  together.  Public  sales,  and  the  present 
low  prices,  are  very  injurious  to  the  merchants  and  man- 
ufacturers of  England. 

Probably  the  market  of  Philadelphia  displays  the  great- 
est quantity  of  fruits  and  vegetables  in  the  world.  Boat 
loads  are  brought  by  the  Delaware,  and  numerous  wag- 
gons come  loaded  from  the  interior.     Peaches,  apples, 

87  For  a  sketch  of  John  Melish,  see  Bradbury's  Travels,  volume  v  of  our  series, 
note  129. —  Ed. 

"  For  a  brief  description  of  the  National  Road,  see  Harris's  Journal,  volume 
iii  of  our  series,  note  45. —  Ed. 


60  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  o 

pears,  melons,  cucumbers,  pine  apples,  sweet  potatoes, 
onions,  &c.  are  plentiful  beyond  example. 

The  cleanliness  and  the  civil  address  of  persons  who 
vend  provisions  in  the  market,  are  truly  gratifying:  if  a 
speck  is  to  be  seen  on  the  white  apron  of  the  butcher,  it 
may  be  inferred  that  it  came  there  on  the  same  morning. 
Girls  arrive  on  horseback,  or  driving  light  waggons,  to  sell 
vegetables,  or  the  produce  of  the  dairy.  Many  of  these 
females,  I  am  told,  are  the  daughters  of  farmers  who  are 
in  good  circumstances.  Here  are  none  of  the  lazzaroni 
hucksters  of  fruit  and  sweet-meats,  that  form  such  a 
deplorable  spectacle  in  the  finest  cities  of  Britain;  nor  of 
the  miserables  who  rise  earlier  than  the  sun,  to  pick  from 
amongst  the  ashes,  the  charred  offal  of  their  neighbour's 
fire. 

September  3.  To-day  I  have  seen  a  man  sprawling  on 
the  ground  in  a  state  of  intoxication ;  he  is  a  native  of  Ire- 
land. This  is  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  which  I  have 
seen  in  America.  From  this  incident,  I  do  not  mean  to 
represent  that  the  people  here  do  not  drink  spirituous 
liquors.  The  truth  is,  that  many  drink  of  them  almost 
the  moment  after  they  get  out  of  bed,  and  also  at  fre- 
quent intervals  during  the  day;  but  though  this  fact  has 
been  noticed,  the  first  conclusion  is  nevertheless  true, 
that  excessive  drinking  is  rare. 

[37]  The  saw  for  cross-cutting  timber  for  fuel,  is  a  tool 
which,  for  superior  expedition,  recommends  itself  to 
joiners  and  others.  The  following  figure  is  a  representa- 
tion of  it. 

AB  is  the  blade,  about  thirty  inches  long,  and  about  two 
inches  broad.  It  is  very  thin,  and  its  teeth  are  very 
slightly  bent  to  the  right  and  left,  so  that  it  makes  a  nar- 
row cut,  through  which  the  slender  blade  moves  with  little 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  61 

friction, —  hence  its  facilities.  The  crooked  stick  ECA  is 
the  handle,  FDB  is  another  crooked  stick,  into  which  the 
blade  is  fixed  at  B.  The  wooden  bar  CD  serves  for  fulcra, 
over  which  the  blade  is  stretched  by  twisting  the  small 
rope  EF,  by  means  of  the  peg  GH. 


The  sawing  of  fire-wood,  and  many  other  sorts  of  hard 
labour,  are  chiefly  performed  by  black  people.  Happily, 
very  few  of  these  are  now  slaves  in  Pennsylvania.  Free 
blacks,  it  is  understood,  have  no  difficulty  in  earning  the 
means  of  subsistence,  but  the  circumstance  of  their  being 
despised  and  degraded,  has  had  bad  effects  on  their  char- 
acter. Even  the  Quakers,  who  have  so  honourably  pro- 
moted negro  emancipation,  allot  a  separate  part  of  the 
church  to  people  of  colour.  In  the  state  prison,  too,  they 
are  separated  from  whites.  These  odious  distinctions 
should  be  abolished  in  a  free  country. 

Negroes  are  stigmatized  as  an  inferior  race;  indolent, 
dishonest,  and  vindictive  in  the  extreme.  [38]  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that,  in  many  instances,  these  characteristics 
are  too  just,  but  it  cannot  be  otherwise,  while  moral  cul- 
ture is,  in  a  great  measure,  withheld  from  them,  while  they 
are  excluded  from  the  society  of  the  wise  and  the  good, 
and  while  the  hope  of  applause  gives  no  stimulus  to  the 
coloured  man.    Moral  or  immoral,  he  is  a  negro.    This, 


62  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

of  itself,  is  enough  to  keep  him  down.  If  Africans  were 
placed  on  a  similar  footing,  and  with  the  same  opportuni- 
ties, as  their  white  neighbours,  and  if  they  still  kept  behind, 
we  might  then  begin  to  suspect  a  radical  defect  in  then- 
nature.  But,  as  they  are,  it  cannot  be  pretended  that  the 
experiment  has  been  made. 

For  some  time  past,  the  democratic  party  have  been 
nominating  candidates  for  their  general  support  in  the  en- 
suing election.  No  doubt  is  entertained  of  a  democratic 
preponderance  in  the  next  session  of  Congress.  The  Fed- 
eralist cabal  is  now  disconcerted  in  this  part  of  the  Union. 
The  mercenary  avarice  that  would  barter  the  indepen- 
dence of  America  for  English  goods,  was  never  less  for- 
midable than  now. 

Here,  as  at  New  York,  boarding  houses  are  to  be  found, 
varying  from  the  simplest  accommodations,  to  elegance 
and  luxury.  The  person  who  lives  in  a  house  where  a 
high  price  is  paid  for  board,  is  separated  from  the  poorer 
class,  and  his  acquaintances  and  associates  are  people  in 
affluent  circumstances  and  polished  education;  he  is  as 
free  in  the  choice  of  his  society  as  he  possibly  can  be. 
Without  doors,  however,  persons  of  lesser  note  are  not 
treated  with  hauteur,  and  in  transacting  business  the  ut- 
most affability  prevails. 

The  dress  worn  in  temperate  weather  is  the  same  as  in 
Britain,  with  this  difference  only,  that  pantaloons  [39]  are 
almost  universal:  the  shorter  small-clothes  are  used  only 
by  Quakers.  On  Sundays  it  would  be  difficult  to  discrim- 
inate betwixt  the  hired  girl  and  the  daughter  in  a  genteel 
family,  were  drapery  the  sole  criterion.  Attentive  obser- 
vation of  the  people  on  the  streets,  would  convince  any  one 
of  the  general  diffusion  of  comfort  and  competence. 

The  symptoms  of  republican  equality  are  visible  in  all 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  63 

the  members  of  the  community.  I  have  seen  several  curi- 
ous instances  of  this,  which  would  surprise  those  accus- 
tomed only  to  the  manners  of  the  old  world.  For  exam- 
ple, the  Mayor  is  a  respectable-looking,  plainly  dressed 
gentleman,  and  apparently  a  penetrating  and  efficient 
police  magistrate.  On  a  late  occasion  the  court  was 
crowded,  and  the  weather  hot;  he  desired  a  person  in 
attendance  to  bring  cold  water.  It  was  brought  in  a 
brown  jug,  not  accompanied  with  a  glass.  A  person 
within  the  railing  (probably  a  lawyer  or  clerk,  more 
thirsty  than  his  honour)  intercepted  the  vessel,  drank, 
and  then  handed  it  to  the  Judge. 

On  the  Sabbath,  we  do  not  witness  all  the  stillness  and 
solemnity  that  usually  characterize  a  presbyterian  town. 
On  the  morning  of  that  day,  I  have  seen  loaded  waggons 
start  in  the  market  street,  for  the  westward.  A  grocer, 
opposite  to  the  house  where  I  board,  has  two  shops,  one 
of  them  he  keeps  open  for  the  sale  of  liquor,  segars,  &c. 
In  a  late  newspaper,  a  complaint  appeared  against  bringing 
cattle  into  the  street  for  sale  on  Sunday  afternoon.  If  this 
complaint  was  founded  on  truth,  it  is  at  least  evident  that 
it  was  addressed  to  citizens  who,  it  was  believed,  would 
suppress  the  evil.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  a  very 
great  proportion  of  the  people  spend  the  day  in  the  duties 
of  [40]  religion;  but  some  here,  as  in  other  places,  employ 
it  purely  as  a  day  of  rest;  some  as  a  day  of  amusement; 
and  others  in  visiting  friends,  or  other  convivial  meetings. 
On  a  Sunday  afternoon  I  have  heard  many  reports  of  guns, 
in  the  neighbouring  woods  or  swamps.  You  will  consider 
all  this  as  a  foul  blot  on  the  fair  character  of  the  City  of 
Brethren;  but  I  trust  that  your  liberality  will  not  impute 
to  the  jurisprudence  of  America,  pre-existing  customs, 
that,  at  every  stage  of  the  settlement,  must  have  been  im- 


64  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ported  from  England;  even  from  a  country  which  pays 
tithes,  for  the  support  of  a  priesthood. 

Every  day  numbers  of  European  emigrants  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  streets.  The  ingress  is  greater  than  at  any 
former  time.  I  have  never  heard  of  another  feeling  than 
good  wishes  to  them.  For  my  own  part,  I  have  met  with 
several  receptions  kinder  than  I  ever  could  have  antici- 
pated; and  have  become  acquainted  with  a  number  of 
excellent  citizens,  whose  approbation  will  always  be  suffi- 
cient to  convey  a  high  gratification  to  my  mind. 


[41]  LETTER  IV29 

Journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg — Lancaster — 
Elizabeth  Town — The  River  Susquehana — Harrisburg 
— Carlisle — Chambersburg — Cove  Mountain — Mac- 
cbnnel's  Town — Sidelong-hill — The  river  Juniata — 
Bedford — The  Allegany  Ridge — Stoystown — Laurel- 
hill  — Lauchlinstown — Chesnut  Ridge — Greensburg — 
Adamsburg — Pittsburg — Interspersed  remarks  on  the 
Country,  Taverns,  &c. — Notices  of  Emigrants,  and 
occurrences  by  the  way. 

Pittsburg,  2&th  September. 
The  contents  of  this  will  be  composed  of  notes  taken  on 

my  journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg.30 

*•  For  notes  on  the  following  places  mentioned  in  this  chapter,  see  Post's 
Journals,  volume  i  of  our  series:  Harrisburg,  note  73;  Carlisle,  note  75;  Shippens- 
burg,  note  76;  Loudon,  note  78;  Bedford,  note  81.  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels, 
volume  iii  of  our  series:  Greensburg,  note  16.  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our 
series:  Elizabethtown,  note  7;  Middletown,  note  9;  Chambersburg,  note  16; 
Bloody  Run,  note  18. —  Ed. 

10  Flint's  route  to  Pittsburg  was  by  way  of  the  new  Lancaster  pike  —  the  first 
macadamized  American  road  —  and  onward  over  the  central  Pennsylvania  route 
through  Bedford,  Ligonier,  and  Greensburg.  Much  ado  was  made  over  the 
opening  of  the  Cumberland  Road  across  the  Alleghenies;  but  until  the  building 
of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  to  Cumberland,  Maryland,  in  1845,  the 
central  Pennsylvania  route  seems  to  have  been  the  popular  one  from  Washing- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  65 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  September,  I  went  to  the 
Coach-Office  in  Philadelphia  to  take  my  seat.  Such  is 
the  number  of  travellers  that  I  found  it  necessary  to  take 
out  a  ticket  two  days  previously. 

The  mail-coach  is  a  large  clumsy  vehicle,  carrying 
twelve  passengers.  It  is  greatly  encumbered  by  large 
bags,  which  are  enormously  swollen  by  the  bulk  of  news- 
papers. As  a  substitute  for  glass  windows,  a  large  roll  of 
leather  is  let  down  on  each  side  in  bad  weather. 

During  the  greater  part  of  the  day  our  route  was  through 
a  part  of  the  country  of  a  clayey  soil,  moderately  fertile, 
and  of  a  flat  insipid  surface.  Late  in  the  afternoon,  we 
passed  some  land  of  a  finer  mould,  and  more  elegant 
structure,  with  fruit  trees  bending  under  their  load.  The 
Indian  [42]  corn  is  nearly  ripe,  and  is  a  great  crop  this 
year.  The  stalks  are  generally  about  eight  feet  high.  The 
people  have  been  picking  the  leaves  off  this  sort  of  crop, 
and  setting  them  up  between  the  rows  in  conical  bunches, 
to  be  preserved  as  winter  food  for  the  cattle. 

We  passed  several  family  waggons  moving  westward. 
The  young  and  the  strong  walking,  the  aged  and  infants 
riding.  Waggons  for  removing  families,  and  those  fo 
carrying  goods  to  Pittsburg,  have  a  canvass  cover,  stretched 
over  hoops  that  pass  from  one  side  of  the  waggon  to  the 
other,  in  the  form  of  an  arch.  The  front  is  left  open,  to 
give  the  passengers  within  the  vehicle  the  benefit  of  a  free 
circulation  of  cool  air. 

Lancaster  is  a  large  town,  well  known  for  the  manufac- 

ton  and  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg.  John  Melish's  map  in  Morris  Birkbeck, 
Letters  from  Illinois  (Philadelphia,  1818),  does  not  give  the  Cumberland  Road, 
although  it  outlines  the  old  Northwestern  turnpike  from  Cumberland  to  Parkers- 
burg,  West  Virginia.  Almost  all  English  travelers  passed  westward  over  the 
Pennsylvania  Road,  which  was  two  hundred  and  ninety-four  miles  in  length, 
according  to  Melish,  Traveller's  Directory,  p.  69. —  Ed. 


66  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ture  of  rifle-guns.  We  were  too  late  in  the  evening  for 
having  a  distinct  sight  of  the  place,  or  of  the  country 
towards  Elizabeth  Town,  which  is  much  commended. 

September  21.  The  coach  stopped  at  Elizabeth  Town, 
last  night,  for  three  hours,  and  started  again  before  three 
o'clock.  We  were  near  Middletown  (eight  miles  on  our 
way)  before  the  light  disclosed  to  our  eyes  a  pleasant  and 
fertile  country. 

It  was  near  Middletown  that  we  got  the  first  peep  of 
the  river  Susquehana,  which  is  here  about  a  mile  in  breadth. 
The  trees  on  the  east  bank,  confining  the  view  to  the  right 
and  left,  produced  an  illusory  effect,  almost  imposing  on 
the  mind  a  lake  instead  of  the  river.  The  highly  trans- 
parent state  of  the  air,  and  the  placid  surface  of  the  water, 
united  in  producing  a  most  distinct  reflexion  of  the  bold 
banks  on  the  opposite  side.  Cliffs,  partially  concealed 
by  a  luxuriant  growth  of  trees,  sprung  from  the  detritus 
below,  and  by  smaller  [43]  ones  rooted  in  the  rifted  rocks. 
Over  these  a  rising  back  ground  is  laid  out  in  cultivated 
fields.  The  eye  is  not  soon  tired  of  looking  on  a  scene  so 
richly  furnished,  and  so  gay. 

Harrisburg,  the  seat  of  legislature  of  Pennsylvania,  is  a 
small  town  which  stands  on  a  low  bottom  by  the  river; 
a  pleasant,  but  apparently  an  unhealthy  situation.  Oppo- 
site to  the  town  is  a  small  island  in  the  river,  connected 
with  the  eastern  and  western  shores  by  very  long  wooden 
bridges.  The  waters  of  the  Susquehana  are  limpid,  but 
shallow  at  this  place,  and  ill  adapted  to  navigation,  ex- 
cept in  times  of  flood. 

The  country  immediately  west  of  the  Susquehana  is 
truly  delightful.  The  soil,  whether  occupied  by  the  nat- 
ural woods,  orchards,  or  crops,  is  covered  with  a  profuse 
vegetation;  and  the  superficial  aspect  altogether  agree- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  67 

able.  The  best  sort  of  houses  are  of  limestone;  they  shew 
nothing  of  fine  taste  or  neat  workmanship,  but  are  far 
superior  in  durability  and  appearance  to  the  wooden  erec- 
tions so  common  here.  Barns  are  much  larger,  and  fre- 
quently neater  than  the  adjoining  dwellings. 

Towards  Carlisle,  the  road  passes  through  lands  inferior 
to  the  lower  country,  seen  in  the  forenoon.  The  surface 
of  limestone  rocks,  and  large  detached  blocks  of  the  same 
mineral,  interrupt  the  plough  in  the  field,  and  the  wheeled 
carriage  on  the  road. 

Carlisle,  though  in  a  newly  settled  country,  has  an  ap- 
pearance somewhat  antiquated.  With  so  much  grass 
growing  in  the  streets,  a  suspicion  arises  that  there  is  not 
much  traffic  here. 

Shippingsburg  is  a  place  more  recently  founded  than 
the  last,  but  has,  notwithstanding,  contracted  something 
like  the  rust  of  time.  Wooden  [44]  erections  soon  acquire 
a  weather-beaten  appearance.  The  subsidence  of  log 
houses  discloses  chinks,  shewing  that  they  are  well  ven- 
tilated in  summer,  but  not  the  most  comfortable  lodg- 
ments for  the  winter. 

At  Chambersburg  the  coach  halted  during  the  night. 
The  rough  roads  already  surmounted,  and  the  report  of 
worse  still  before  us,  determined  two  of  the  passengers, 
besides  myself,  to  walk,  as  an  easier  mode  of  travelling 
over  the  mountains.  Chambersburg  is  143  miles  from 
Philadelphia,  and  155  from  Pittsburg;  and  lies  in  the  inter- 
section of  the  roads  from  York,  Baltimore,  and  Phil- 
adelphia. Several  branches  of  what  has  been  very  prop- 
erly called  the  current  of  emigration,  being  here  united, 
strangers  from  the  eastern  country,  and  from  Europe,  are 
passing  in  an  unceasing  train.  An  intelligent  gentleman, 
at  this  place,  informed  me,  that  this  stream  of  emigration 


68  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

has  flowed  more  copiously  this  year,  than  at  any  former 
period;  and  that  the  people  now  moving  westward,  are 
ten  times  more  numerous  than  they  were,  ten  years  ago. 
His  computation  is  founded  on  the  comparative  amount 
of  the  stage-coach  business,  and  on  careful  observation. 
This  astonishing  statement  is,  in  some  degree,  counte- 
nanced by  a  late  notice  in  a  New  York  newspaper,  that 
stated  the  number  of  emigrants  which  arrived  in  that  port 
during  the  week,  ending  the  31st  of  August  last,  to  be  2050. 
The  gentleman  alluded  to,  says,  that  shades  of  character, 
sensibly  different  from  one  another,  are  forming  in  the 
western  States.  He  represents  the  Kentuckians  to  be  a 
high-toned  people,  who  frequently  announce  their  coun- 
try, as  if  afraid  of  being  mistaken  for  inhabitants  of  Ohio 
State;  and  the  Ohians,  as  having  less  pride  of  country, 
being  less  assuming  in  their  [45]  demeanour,  but  not  less 
agreeable  in  conversation,  nor  less  punctual  in  business 
transactions.  Were  it  not  for  the  intelligence  of  my  pene- 
trating informant,  and  for  his  great  intercourse  with  travel- 
lers, I  would  certainly  not  have  remarked  the  supposed 
distinction  of  these  provincial  characters.  If  the  differ- 
ence really  exists,  it  will  be  difficult  to  assign  any  moral 
cause  that  is  adequate;  unless  it  be  the  keeping  slaves  in 
Kentucky,  a  species  of  stock  not  permitted  by  the  consti- 
tution of  Ohio. 

September  22.  We  found  a  waggoner  who  agreed  to 
carry  our  travelling  necessaries  to  Pittsburg.  For  my 
portmanteau,  weighing  about  fourteen  pounds,  he  charged 
three  dollars,  alleging  the  trouble  that  attends  putting 
small  articles  within  doors  every  night.  This  is  an  instance 
of  one  man  measuring  his  demand  by  the  urgent  situation 
of  another.  The  jolting  that  waggons  undergo  in  this 
rugged  country,  render  it  indispensable  that  baggage  be 
packed  with  the  utmost  care. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  69 

The  two  young  gentlemen  with  whom  I  started,  are 
Americans,  good  walkers,  and  cheerful  companions. 

One  mile  to  the  north  of  Chambersburg  the  road  ascends 
a  steep  hill  of  slate  clay,  the  first  stratified  substance  that 
I  have  seen  overlaying  the  limestone.  The  soil  on  the 
summit  is  so  excessively  poor,  that  I  am  surprised  to  see 
such  ground  cultivated  in  this  country. 

Several  taverns  by  the  road  are  log-houses  constructed 
by  laying  squared  trees  horizontally,  in  a  quadrangular 
position,  in  a  way  similar  to  that  in  which  house-joiners 
pile  up  boards  to  be  dried.  As  the  erection  advances,  the 
last  laid  or  uppermost  log  is  notched  on  the  upper  side, 
near  both  ends,  for  the  reception  of  the  next  cross  pieces. 
[46]  The  interstices  are  filled  up  with  lime  or  clay,  and  the 
roofs  are  of  shingles,  or  thin  boards.  Frame  houses  con- 
sist of  erect  posts,  set  in  sills  or  horizontal  foundation 
beams.  Over  the  tops  of  the  posts  other  horizontal  pieces 
are  laid,  forming  the  summit  of  the  wall.  The  outside 
of  the  posts  are  covered  over  with  thin  boards,  ranged  hor- 
izontally, the  upper  one  uniformly  overlaying  the  edge  of 
that  immediately  under  it.  The  inside  is  most  commonly 
lined  with  lathing  and  plaster,  but  the  last  piece  of  finery 
is  frequently  dispensed  with. 

Near  Baker's  tavern,  six  miles  from  Chambersburg, 
the  waggon  wheels  have  uncovered  a  fine  slate  clay,  fit  to 
be  used  as  slate  pencils.  The  same  kind  of  substance  is 
to  be  seen  in  the  adjoining  stream. 

Around  Campbell's  Town,  seven  miles  from  Chambers- 
burg, the  land  is  bleak,  and  apparently  poor;  to  the  north- 
west an  extended  high  ridge  exposes  to  view  a  large  tract 
of  romantic  wood  scenery. 

At  thirteen  miles  from  Chambersburg  is  Loudon,  a  few 
houses  only,  two  of  them  taverns,  situated  at  the  foot  of 
the  ridge  just  mentioned,  which  is  called  the  Cove  Moun- 


70  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

tain.  A  new  road  is  formed  over  it.  The  ascent  is  wind- 
ing and  gradual,  so  that  seven  miles  are  occupied  in  sur- 
mounting the  formidable  barrier.  The  darkness  of  the 
night,  and  the  great  quantity  of  timber  on  both  sides, 
rendered  this  part  of  our  journey  very  gloomy.  Not  a 
sound  was  to  be  heard  but  that  of  the  Catadid,  a  large 
green  insect,  whose  note  resembles  its  name,  as  nearly  as 
it  can  any  articulate  sound.  Near  the  top  of  the  hill 
stands  a  miserable  log  tavern  filled  with  movers,  a  name  for 
settlers  removing  to  the  western  country.  At  the  summit, 
we  were  accosted  in  the  Irish  accent.  The  individual 
[47]  told  us  that  he  was  so  much  exhausted,  that  he  could 
not  proceed  farther,  and  that  he  had  laid  himself  down 
among  the  trees.31 

At  MacconneFs  Town,  we  knocked  at  the  door  of  a 
tavern,  heard  a  noise  within,  which  convinced  us  that  the 
people  were  astir,  but  not  willing  to  hear  us.  On  making 
louder  applications,  the  landlord  saluted  us,  "Who's 
there?"  With  some  reluctance  he  let  us  in,  grumbling  at 
the  lateness  of  our  arrival,  it  being  ten  minutes  past  ten 
o'clock.  He  affected  to  be  unwilling  to  let  us  have  supper; 
but  while  he  was  refusing,  a  female  commenced  cooking 
for  us. 

September  23.  From  beds  which  we  last  night  saw  on 
the  floor  of  the  bar-room,  a  numerous  group  of  Swiss  emi- 
grants had  arisen.  One  of  them,  an  old  man  with  a  long 
beard,  has  a  truly  patriarchal  appearance.  The  females 
wear  hats,  and  are  of  a  hardy  and  masculine  form. 

About  a  mile  from  MacconnePs  Town,  is  the  foot  of 
another  steep  ridge;  a  new  road  over  it  is  nearly  finished. 
Here  we  met  with  a  foot  traveller,  who  told  us  that  he  had 

81  The  evening  was  warm,  and,  (not  to  exaggerate  the  difficulty  of  removing 
him  to  the  next  town,)  we  judged  that  he  was  in  no  danger. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  71 

settled  in  Illinois,  by  the  Wabash,  about  fifty  miles  above 
Vincennes.  The  ground,  he  said,  ' '  is  as  good  as  ever  man 
set  foot  on."  32  He  had  not  heard  of  Mr.  Birkbeck's  settle- 
ment: this,  together  with  his  appearance,  convinced  us 
that  he  is  a  hunter  of  the  woods.  He  was  on  his  way  to 
remove  his  family  from  New  York  state,  a  journey  of 
1400  miles. 

Called  at  Noble's  tavern  for  breakfast.  The  hostess 
could  not  accommodate  us  with  it.  She  was  in  great 
bustle,  having  thirty  highway  labourers  [48]  at  board,  had 
no  bread  baked,  and  politely  expressed  her  regret  at  being 
so  circumstanced,  but  assured  us,  that,  by  going  half  a 
mile  forward  to  the  next  tavern,  we  would  be  attended  to. 
Mr.  Noble  is  a  member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Senate;  the 
frank  and  obliging  disposition  of  his  wife  demands  my 
acknowledgment . 

At  the  next  tavern  the  prediction  of  a  breakfast  was 
verified :  it  was  largely  furnished,  but  not  with  the  greatest 
dispatch. 

The  forenoon  was  hot,  something  like  the  greatest  heat 
I  have  felt  in  Scotland.  The  mornings  and  evenings  were 
agreeably  cool,  the  air  usually  still,  and  the  sky  highly 
serene. 

Sidelong-hill  is  a  steep  ascent.  The  waggon  path  is 
worn  into  a  deep  rut  or  ravine,  so  that  carriages  cannot 
pass  one  another  in  some  parts  of  it.  The  first  waggoner 
that  gets  into  the  track,  blows  a  horn,  to  warn  others 
against  meeting  him  in  the  narrow  pass.  The  waggoners 
are  understood  to  be  as  friendly  toward  one  another 
as  seamen  are,  and  that  cases  are  not  wanting,  where 

"This  was  the  well-known  settlement  established  in  1818  by  the  English 
philanthropists  Morris  Birkbeck  and  George  Flower,  at  Wanborough  and 
Albion,  in  southeastern  Illinois,  within  the  present  Edwards  County.  For  a 
full  account  of  these  settlements,  see  volume  x  of  our  series. —  Ed. 


J  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

one  has  waited  several  days,  assisting  another  to  rent  his 
carriage. 

On  Sidelong-hill  we  came  up  with  a  singular  party  of 
travellers, — a  man  with  his  wife  and  ten  children.  The 
eldest  of  the  progeny  had  the  youngest  tied  on  his  back; 
and  the  father  pushed  a  wheelbarrow,  containing  the 
moveables  of  the  family.  They  were  removing  from  New 
Jersey  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  a  land  journey  of  340  miles 
to  Pittsburg.  Abrupt  edges  of  rocks,  higher  than  the 
wheel,  occasionally  interrupt  the  passage.  Their  humble 
carriage  must  be  lifted  over  these.  A  little  farther  onward 
we  passed  a  young  woman,  carrying  a  sucking  child  in  her 
arms,  and  leading  a  very  little  one  by  the  hand.  It  is 
impossible  to  take  particular  notice  [49]  of  all  the  travellers 
on  the  way.  We  could  scarcely  look  before  or  behind, 
without  seeing  some  of  them.  The  Canterbury  pilgrims 
were  not  so  diversified  nor  so  interesting  as  these. 

Crossed  the  river  Juniata  by  a  wooden  bridge,  supported 
by  two  strong  chains,  hung  in  the  manner  of  a  slack  rope, 
over  the  tops  of  posts,  (one  at  each  end,)  about  twenty  feet 
higher  than  the  road.  The  curve  formed  by  the  chain 
passes  low  enough  to  come  under,  and  support  several  of 
the  cross  beams  under  the  middle  of  the  bridge.  Other 
parts  of  the  bridge  are  supported  by  perpendicular  ties, 
that  pass,  from  the  roadway  upward,  to  the  chains.  The 
Juniata  runs  here  in  a  deep  chasm,  between  cliffs  of  slate 
clay;  the  bridge  has  consequently  a  magical  effect.  The 
river  is  shallow,  but  at  other  seasons  of  the  year  is  navi- 
gable. The  land  is  poor  and  parched,  and  is  formed  of 
steep,  irregular  knolls. 

Passed  Bloody  Run,  a  town  of  a  very  few  houses,  but 
with  two  taverns.  A  romantic  site  in  a  low  valley  of  the 
Juniata.    The  declining  light  of  the  evening  had  softened 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  73 

the  outline  of  the  timber  on  the  hills  beyond  the  river,  so 
that  the  scene  brought  to  my  recollection  the  heaths  of  a 
well  known  land. 

Stopped  for  the  night  in  a  tolerably  good  tavern,  two 
miles  from  Bloody  Run.  The  bar-room  is  nearly  filled 
with  people.  On  our  being  shewn  to  a  more  retired  apart- 
ment, I  could  see  one  person  make  a  wry  face,  and  then 
smile  to  his  acquaintance.  It  would  seem  that  our  being 
separated  from  the  large  party,  was  not  attended  by  the 
most  pleasant  sensations. 

September  24.  Last  night  we  slept  in  a  large  room  con- 
taining five  beds.  It  was  proposed  that  one  of  these 
should  hold  two  of  us.  My  companions  went  together, 
and  I  congratulated  myself  on  [50]  monopolizing  one  of 
the  beds, — but  here  I  reckoned  without  mine  host.  About 
midnight  a  man  entered  the  room,  groped  all  the  beds, 
and  finding  that  I  was  alone,  tumbled  in  beside  me.  Such 
is  a  common  occurrence,  I  am  told,  in  this  country,  but  it 
is  the  first  time  that  I  have  met  with  it.  In  the  morning 
I  discovered  that  my  neighbour  was  a  person  of  good  ad- 
dress, and  respectable  appearance. 

After  resuming  our  journey,  we  came  up  to  a  family 
rising  from  their  beds  by  the  embers  of  a  fire  in  the  wood. 
The  father  fired  off  a  rifle,  which  it  would  seem  he  had 
kept  in  readiness  for  defence.  There  can  be  no  great  ob- 
jection to  sleeping  in  the  woods,  in  such  fine  weather. 
From  several  heaps  of  ashes  that  we  have  seen  by  the  sides 
of  the  road,  it  is  evident  that  the  practice  is  common,  even 
where  taverns  are  numerous.  Emigrants  carry  their 
moveables  in  one  horse  carts,  or  two  or  four  horse  waggons, 
as  the  quantity  of  goods  may  require.  They  carry  much 
of  their  provisions  from  Philadelphia,  and  other  towns, 
and  many  of  them  sleep  in  their  own  bed  clothes,  on  the 


74  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

floors  of  bar-rooms  in  the  taverns.  For  this  kind  of  lodg- 
ing they  usually  pay  twenty-five  cents  a  family. 

The  dollar  is  the  integer  of  money  in  the  United  States, 
as  universal  as  the  pound  is  in  Britain.  In  the  former 
country,  cents  or  hundredth  parts  of  a  dollar  are  the  lowest 
fractional  parts  in  use.  Rating  the  dollar  at  four  shillings 
and  sixpence  sterling,  the  cent  of  America  is  eight  per  cent, 
more  than  the  halfpenny  of  Britain.  The  fractional  di- 
visions of  the  dollar,  are  J^,  %,  %y  and  TV,  or  50  cents, 
25  cents,  12%  cents,  and  6%  cents.  Silver  coins  repre- 
senting all  these  quantities  are  in  circulation.  The  pecu- 
liarity in  the  convenience  of  quantities  [51]  derived  from 
continual  bisection,  is  known  to  all  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  theory  of  numbers. 

It  is  impossible  to  say  whether  it  is  cheaper  to  travel 
with  a  family,  by  purchasing  a  waggon  and  horses  at 
Philadelphia,  or  by  hiring  one  of  the  waggons  that  pass 
regularly  to  Pittsburg.  This  depends  on  the  price  paid 
for  carriage  at  the  particular  time,  and  also  on  that  to  be 
paid  for  waggon  and  horses  at  Philadelphia.  In  the  one 
case,  the  waggoner  is  paid  for  the  weight  of  the  goods, 
and  for  that  of  the  persons  who  ride;  and  in  the  other  case, 
the  waggon  and  horses  may  be  expected  to  sell  at,  or 
under,  half  the  price  paid  for  them  at  the  sea-port.  The 
great  number  of  family  waggons  now  on  the  road,  amounts 
to  a  presumption  that  this  mode  of  travelling  is  now 
thought  to  be  the  cheaper. 

Crossed  the  Juniata  once  more.  The  bridge  is  a  new 
stone  erection  of  bad  workmanship.  We  are  told  that  it 
fell  down  repeatedly.  To  insure  its  standing,  a  step  is  left 
on  the  head  of  each  abutment,  on  these  the  wooden  centres 
rest.  They  are  not  withdrawn,  so  that  the  beams  must 
give  way,  before  it  can  be  ascertained  whether  the  effective 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  75 

arch  is  of  wood  or  of  stone!!!  The  parapets  have  been 
coped  with  boards,  but  the  wind  has  uncovered  one  of  the 
sides!!!  * 

The  steep  banks  are  covered  with  trees.  Oak,  ash, 
hickory,  chesnut,  and  walnut,  are  the  most  prevalent 
species. 

Bedford,  the  head  town  of  the  county  of  that  name,  is  a 
considerable  place,  with  some  neat  brick  and  stone  houses. 

In  our  progress  this  forenoon  we  have  seen  much  poor 
scorched  land.  Indian  corn  is  short  and  shrivelled;  pas- 
ture bad,  and  the  woods  without  the  strength  they  attain 
in  a  richer  soil.  Orchards  [52]  bear  well;  the  traveller 
may  knock  down  the  apples  that  overhang  the  road,  and 
may  probably  pass  without  complaint.  Pear  trees  are 
scarce,  if  at  all  to  be  seen.  Probably  they  are  subject  to 
canker  on  this  light  dry  soil.  Peaches  are  small.  A  farmer 
by  the  road  side,  offered  us  a  few  of  the  latter  sort  of  fruit, 
unasked.  Ironstone  is  abundant,  in  one  place  the  new 
road  is  formed  of  it.  In  another,  we  saw  prismatic  pieces 
of  nine  or  ten  inches  square,  and  about  four  feet  long. 
The  prevailing  strata  are  of  clay  schist ;  the  surface  is  hilly 
and  broken. 

In  the  afternoon,  we  found  ourselves  climbing  a  steep, 
without  being  aware  that  it  was  the  side  of  the  Allegany 
ridge,  not  having  previously  seen  any  eminence  through 
the  woods.  The  mountain  is  itself  so  much  enveloped  in 
foliage,  that  we  can  only  with  the  utmost  difficulty  have 
a  single  peep  of  the  lower  country  behind.  The  lower 
country,  where  seen,  has  nearly  all  the  sameness  of  the 
surface  of  the  ocean.  The  farthest  visible  ridge  appears 
blue,  and  its  outline  looks  as  smooth  as  if  it  were  not  cov- 
ered by  timber.  We  could  not  recognise  a  trace  of  our 
way  hither. 


y6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

Met  several  waggons  descending;  they  are  obliged  to 
move  along  in  a  narrow  track,  on  the  very  brink  of  a  preci- 
pice. The  road  winds  round  a  point  of  the  hill,  and  slants 
along  the  side  of  a  tremendous  ravine,  that,  as  it  were, 
cleaves  the  eastern  side  of  the  ridge  in  two  parts.  The 
trees  render  it  almost  impossible  to  see  across  the  chasm. 
The  scenery  is  naturally  romantic,  but  not  yet  exposed  to 
the  eye  of  the  admiring  traveller. 

The  large  timber  on  the  summit  indicates  a  degree  of  fer- 
tility not  usual  on  hill  tops;  and  far  surpassing  that  of  the 
country  near  the  south  east  foot  of  the  mountain.  The 
cleared  ground  by  a  [53]  tavern  on  the  height  is  good.  The 
top  of  this  range  of  mountains  is  a  table  land,  swelled  with 
irregularities,  and  in  some  parts  strewed  with  large  de- 
tached blocks  of  sandstone;  the  same  kind  of  mineral  of 
which  the  horizontal  strata  of  the  mountain  is  composed. 
Were  it  not  for  the  recollection  of  the  steep  ascended,  we 
should  never  have  surmised  that  we  were  here  on  the 
11  spine  of  the  United  States." 

Met  with  two  young  men  going  eastward.  One  of  my 
companions  saluted  them, l '  You  are  going  the  wrong  way." 
ilNo,"  replied  one  of  the  others,  "You  are  going  the 
wrong  way.  I  have  been  at  Pittsburg,  and  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  I  declare  it  is  the  most  detestable  country  in  the 
world." 

Stotler's  tavern  was  full  of  people;  we  had  no  sooner 
entered  the  door  than  we  were  in  a  crowd.  We  could  not 
remain  for  the  night. 

We  set  out  for  the  next  tavern,  and  at  dusk  came  into 
a  track  so  wet  and  miry,  that  it  would  be  considered  im- 
passable in  some  parts  of  the  world.  We  groped  our 
way  along  the  side  of  it,  over  logs,  and  occasionally  through 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  jj 

the  wood,  to  avoid  the  horrid  bog.  Two  young  men  of 
the  neighbourhood  came  forward,  told  us  that  we  had  just 
entered  upon  the  worst  part  of  the  road,  and,  as  they  were 
going  in  the  same  direction,  offered  to  conduct  us. 

The  next  tavern  was  one  where  whisky  is  sold,  but  the 
occupiers  of  it  could  not  be  troubled  with  lodging  travel- 
lers. They  told  us  that  there  is  another  tavern  a  mile  for- 
ward. The  road  still  bad;  but  as  our  conductors  were 
going  farther,  we  accompanied  them. 

The  other  tavern  was  so  completely  thronged  with 
movers,  that  a  multitude  of  them  had  taken  up  their  lodg- 
ings in  a  barn.  We  were  permitted  [54]  to  stop,  on  con- 
dition of  all  three  sleeping  in  one  bed,  which  was  said  to 
be  a  large  and  a  good  one.  Two-thirds  of  the  bar-room 
floor  was  covered  by  the  beds  of  weary  travellers,  lying 
closely  side  by  side,  and  the  remaining  part  occupied  by 
people  engaged  in  drinking,  and  noisy  conversation.  The 
room  in  which  supper  was  taken,  was  too  small  to  admit 
any  large  proportion  of  the  company  at  once,  of  conse- 
quence we  had  to  wait  the  alternation  of  a  supper  party 
and  a  cooking,  before  we  got  to  the  table. 

This  accumulation  of  travellers  is  chiefly  occasioned  by 
people  in  the  eastern  States  having  reaped  and  disposed 
of  their  crops  at  this  season,  and  on  that  account  finding  it 
a  convenient  time  for  removing  to  the  western  country. 

September  25.  At  half  past  five  all  were  in  bustle,  pre- 
paring for  the  road:  Some  settling  bill  with  the  hostess, 
others  waiting  to  settle:  Some  round  a  long  wooden  trough 
at  the  pump,  washing,  or  drying  themselves  with  their 
pocket-handkerchiefs:  Some  Americans  drinking  their 
morning's  bitters,  (spirits  with  rue,  wormwood,  or  other 
vegetable  infusion:)  Some  women  catching  children  who 


yS  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

had  escaped  naked  from  bed,  others  packing  up  bed 
clothes,  or  putting  them  into  waggons:  Waggoners  harness- 
ing their  horses,  &c. 

The  little  piece  of  ground  cleared  here  is  very  rich,  the 
best  pasture  I  have  seen  in  America;  but  the  winter  in  this 
high  region  must  be  severe. 

Two  miles  onward  there  are  fine  fields  and  orchards. 
The  interval  land  is  meadow.  No  Indian  corn  is  to  be 
seen.  By  the  road  side,  what  miners  call  the  vise  of  a  bed 
of  coal  is  perceptible. 

Stoystown  is  delightfully  situated  on  the  north  bank  of  a 
deep  vale.33  The  neighbouring  grounds  are  but  recently 
cleared.  If  we  may  judge  from  [55]  the  appearance  of 
the  houses,  tavern-keepers  are  the  principal  men  of  the 
place;  one  of  these  is  dubbed  Major. 

The  land  on  this  side  of  the  Allegany  ridge  is  much 
better  than  immediately  on  the  eastern  side  of  it.  At 
present  travellers  and  horses  consume  a  great  part  of  the 
produce,  but  as  cultivation  proceeds,  the  distance  from 
market  must  become  more  sensibly  felt. 

The  ridge,  Laurel  Hill,  is  about  seven  miles  broad  from 
one  side  of  the  base  to  the  other.  We  observed  a  rattle- 
snake that  had  been  recently  killed  on  the  road;  it  was 
about  three  and  a  half  feet  long,  and  about  an  inch  and 
a  half  in  diameter.  The  people  say,  that  only  two  species 
of  serpents  are  poisonous  here;  but  there  are  probably 
more,  as  no  less  than  thirty  species  have  been  enumerated 
in  the  United  States. 

Laurel  Hill  being  broad,  and  considerably  steep,  must 
be  of  prominent  height.     Of  its  elevation  relatively  to  the 

33  Colonel  Bouquet  constructed  a  fort  at  the  present  site  of  Stoystown  in 
1758,  and  a  small  force  was  stationed  there  until  Pontiac's  War.  The  name 
Stoystown  came  from  the  patronymic  of  a  Revolutionary  soldier  who  laid  out 
the  town.     It  is  situated  on  Stony  Creek,  ten  miles  from  Somerset. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  79 

Allegany  ridge,  I  could  not  even  venture  an  opinion.  To 
be  continually  enveloped  in  woods,  without  seeing  to  any 
great  distance,  must  be  a  condition  disagreeable  to  the  in- 
quisitive traveller,  and  to  the  geologist. 

We  lodged  at  Lauchlin's  Town;34  near  this  place  is  a 
small  furnace.     Malleable  iron  is  sold  at  ten  cents  a-pound. 

September  26.  On  this  day  there  was  a  heavy  shower 
of  rain,  the  first  since  our  leaving  Philadelphia.  Passed 
Chesnut  ridge,  near  Somerset.35  At  a  tavern  here,  some 
men  were  drinking  and  swearing  most  hideously.  It  is 
much  to  be  regretted  that  this  vice  is  so  prevalent  in  a 
country  where  so  many  other  things  are  to  be  commended. 

Greensburg,  the  county  town  of  Westmoreland,  is  a 
considerable  place,  built  on  rising  ground.  [56]  Here, 
and  westward  of  this  place,  the  land  is  fine,  but  hilly. 
Stopped  at  Adamsburg,  six  miles  from  Greensburg. 

September  28.  Yesterday  my  companions  set  out  for 
Pittsburg.  These  young  gentlemen  have  conducted  them- 
selves in  the  style  which  distinguishes  the  well-bred  from 
the  uncultivated  and  obtrusive  man.  They  put  no  such 
questions  as,  ■ '  Where  are  you  going  ? — What  are  you  to  do 
there?"  &c.  so  common  in  this  land  of  liberty.  Of  my 
companions  I  only  knew  their  names,  the  States  they  came 
from,  and  that  they  are  going  to  the  western  country. 

Yesterday  morning  the  hoar-frost  was  faintly  visible  on 
the  newly  mown  grass,  the  first  that  has  been  observed 
this  season.  No  danger  is  now  to  be  apprehended  from 
the  cold,  as  Indian  corn,  (the  latest  of  the  crops,)  is  ripe. 
The  woods  and  orchards  have  their  young  shoots  well  ma- 
tured, and  will  soon  be  coloured  with  their  autumnal  tinge. 

84  Laughlin  Town  is  about  five  miles  southeast  of  Loudon. —  Ed. 

38  Somerset,  situated  near  the  centre  of  Somerset  County,  was  first  settled  by 
a  party  of  frontiersmen  about  1765.  Laid  out  by  a  settler  named  Bruner  about 
twenty  years  later,  it  was  for  some  time  called  Brunerstown. —  Ed. 


80  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

A  majority  of  the  people  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Adams- 
burg  are  Germans,  or  their  descendants.  Although  most 
of  them  can  speak  in  English,  their  conversation  with  one 
another  is  in  German,  and  a  clergyman  in  the  neighbour- 
hood preaches  in  that  language. 

Resumed  my  journey;  called  at  L — r's  tavern,  eleven 
miles  from  Greensburg.  The  hostess,  after  promising  to 
give  me  breakfast,  shewed  me  into  a  front  room.  After 
waiting  about  twenty-five  minutes,  two  ladies  on  horse- 
back, apparently  turned  of  forty,  alighted  before  the 
window;  the  hostess  ran  forward,  embraced  and  kissed 
them.  Her  salute  was  the  loudest  articulation  of  the  kind 
that  I  have  heard.  She  came  into  the  room,  and  told  [57] 
me,  she  had  got  so  much  engaged,  that  she  could  not  be 
troubled  with  my  breakfast,  and  that  there  is  a  tavern  only 
half  a  mile  forward  where  I  would  be  attended  to.  The 
good  lady  will  be  freed  from  every  imputation  of  unkind- 
ness,  since  I  have  related  how  cordially  she  welcomed  her 
female  friends  who  engrossed  all  her  attention. 

Met  with  a  man  who  asked  me  if  I  knew  of  ' '  any  trav- 
eller who  would  rest  himself  and  thrash  for  a  few  days  ?" 
To-day  I  begin  to  find  the  estimate  formed  of  foot  travel- 
lers in  this  country  of  equality.  It  is  an  undoubted  truth 
that  the  rider  is  two  steps  higher  than  the  footman. 

Saw  a  drove  of  large  cattle  on  their  way  from  the  State 
of  Ohio  for  Philadelphia.  Their  condition  is  good,  the 
length  of  the  journey  taken  into  consideration.  In  size 
and  even  fat,  they  are  much  superior  to  the  Pennsylvanian 
stock  by  the  sides  of  the  road.  Indeed,  it  is  somewhat 
surprising  to  see  such  bad  cattle  on  the  rich  lands  of  this 
State.    The  causes  merit  the  strictest  inquiry. 

Every  where  the  wheat  stubble  is  so  much  overgrown 
with  annual  weeds,  that  the  verdure  at  a  distance  is  apt 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  81 

to  be  mistaken  for  pasture.  This  growth  is  occasioned 
by  the  long  course  of  hot  weather,  which  succeeds  an  early 
harvest.  It  would  be  advantageous  if  clover,  or  some 
other  useful  herbage,  were  sown  amongst  the  crops,  that 
the  farmer  might  not  only  avail  himself  of  the  propensity 
to  vegetation,  but  check  the  dissemination  of  weeds  so 
hurtful  to  adjoining  fields,  and  to  the  succeeding  pasture. 

The  potato  crops  are  better  than  those  I  have  seen  on 
the  coast,  the  plants  are  more  vigorous,  and  the  tubers 
much  larger. 

Land  partly  cleared,  and  with  some  rude  buildings  [58] 
thereon,  sells  at  from  twenty  to  forty  dollars  an  acre. 

The  new  road  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg  is  now  in 
an  advanced  stage  of  progress.38  Much  of  it  is  finished, 
and  corresponding  parts  of  the  old  track  abandoned. 
Probably,  by  two  years  hence,  the  traveller  will  have  a 
turnpike  from  the  one  city  to  the  other.  The  improve- 
ment is  important,  but  it  is  not  one  that  deserves  un- 
qualified praise.  In  multitudes  of  cases,  it  passes  through 
hollows,  and  over  eminences,  without  regard  to  that  mini- 
mum of  declivity,  which  in  a  great  measure  constitutes  the 
value  of  a  road.  In  some  cases,  the  vertical  curve,  formed 
by  passing  over  rising  grounds,  is  so  long,  that,  applied 
laterally,  the  eminence  surmounted,  would  have  been  alto- 
gether avoided.  The  road  from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling, 
now  constructing  at  the  expense  of  the  government,  is  un- 
derstood to  be  more  judiciously  laid  off.  Its  competition 
must,  ere  long,  give  the  proprietors  of  the  Philadelphia  line, 
an  instructive  lesson  on  the  economical  application  of 
labour. 

M  This  route  was  locally  known  as  the  Chambersburg  and  Pittsburg  turn- 
pike, at  either  end  being  called  by  its  opposite  terminus.  It  was  built  in  general 
alignment  with  Forbes' s  Road,  cut  along  the  old  trading-path  through  the  forests 
in  1758.    See  Post's  Journals^  volume  i  of  our  series,  p.  242. —  Ed. 


82  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

Produce,  in  the  higher  parts  of  Pennsylvania,  may  be 
stated  at  the  rates  of  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  bushels 
of  wheat,  and  from  twenty-five  to  thirty  bushels  of  Indian 
corn,  per  acre.  These  quantities  are  raised  under  slov- 
enly management,  and  without  much  labour.  A  farmer 
expressed  his  contentment  under  existing  circumstances; 
a  dollar  a  bushel  for  wheat  (he  said)  is  a  fair  price,  where 
the  farmer  pays  neither  rent  nor  taxes  to  the  government. 
His  farm,  for  example,  pays  four  or  five  dollars  a-year,  for 
the  support  of  the  state  and  county  officers. 

Labourers  receive  a  dollar  per  day,  and  can  find  board 
for  two  dollars  a-week.  Mechanics,  in  [59]  most  cases, 
earn  more.  Where  health  is  enjoyed,  in  this  place,  poverty 
bespeaks  indolence,  or  want  of  economy. 

Arrived  at  Pittsburg,  after  a  pleasant  journey,  with 
almost  uninterrupted  good  weather.  Some  observations 
on  this  place  will  be  the  subject  of  my  next  letter. 

LETTER  V 

Pittsburg  —  Situation  —  Manufactures  —  Occurrences  — 

People 

In  this  letter  I  shall  not  confine  myself  to  a  description  of 
the  city  of  Pittsburg.  Occurrences  and  remarks,  with,  or 
without  dates,  will  be  promiscuously  introduced.  This 
method  may  not  be  after  the  manner  of  regular  epistolary 
writing;  but  to  me  it  is  the  easiest  way,  and  it  may  have 
the  advantage  of  shewing  you  how  a  great  part  of  my  time 
is  occupied. 

Pittsburg  stands  on  the  point  of  land  formed  by  the  con- 
fluence of  the  rivers  Allegany  and  Monongahela.  The  flat 
ground  on  which  the  greater  part  of  the  buildings  stand, 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  83 

is  upwards  of  thirty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  rivers  at  low 
water.  Part  of  the  land  adjoining  to  the  Allegany  is  only 
about  twenty  feet  high,  and  liable  to  occasional  inunda- 
tions. The  Allegany  here  runs  south-west  by  west,  and 
the  Monongahela  nearly  due  west,  as  does  the  Ohio  in 
continuation.  This,  together  [60]  with  the  Monongahela 
being  broader  than  the  Allegany,  gives  to  the  former  the 
appearance  of  being  the  principal  river,  and  to  the  latter 
the  character  of  a  tributary  stream.  The  Monongahela 
is  muddy  and  sluggish  opposite  to  the  town;  and  though 
about  400  yards  broad  there,  probably  furnishes  much  less 
water  to  the  Ohio  than  does  the  Allegany,  which  is  only 
about  half  the  width,  but  has  a  brisk  current.  The  Alle- 
gany and  the  Monongahela  have  been  described  as  being 
each  about  the  size  of  the  Tay;  but  the  latter  river  is  much 
inferior  to  either  in  magnitude;  and  the  comparison  must 
have  been  influenced  by  the  Tay's  being  the  fittest  river 
with  which  to  compare  it  in  Britain,  and  not  by  its  actual 
parity  with  either. 

Between  the  rivers,  there  is  a  ridge  of  about  300  feet 
high,  which  terminates  with  a  gentle  slope  in  the  most 
inland  part  of  the  town.  This  is  the  hill  that  a  florid 
exaggerator  has  described  as  a  solid  mass  of  coal.  The 
description  was  unnecessary,  as  the  coal  field  in  which  the 
hills  of  Pittsburg  lie,  may  be  considered  as  the  most  ex- 
tensive that  are  known,  although  the  only  bed  here  is  no 
more  than  four  and  a  half  feet  thick.  The  strata  being 
horizontal,  and  the  out-burst  of  the  coal  about  the  middle- 
steep  of  the  hill,  it  is  not  necessary  to  make  shafts,  as  it  is 
level  free,  and  may  be  quarried  and  carried  out  in  wheel 
barrows,  like  road-metal. 

The  hill  on  the  west  side  of  the  Monongahela,  is  a 


84  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

craggy  steep,  almost  close  to  the  river.  It  is  covered 
with  trees  to  the  summit,  and  tends,  more  than  any  other 
object,  to  give  to  Pittsburg  a  picturesque  appearance. 

On  the  north-west  side  of  the  Allegany  lies  a  beautiful 
plain,  the  site  of  the  new  town  Allegany.37  Beyond  the 
plain  lies  another  ridge  corresponding  [61]  in  elevation, 
and  having  a  continuation  of  the  same  strata  that  compose 
the  two  heights  formerly  noticed.  Thus  Pittsburg  is  almost 
surrounded  by  high  wooded  grounds. 

The  heavy  showers  of  rain  that  occasionally  fall  in  this 
country,  form  a  great  objection  to  the  cultivation  of  steep 
lands.  The  torrents  sweep  away  much  of  the  loose  soil, 
cut  deep  ruts,  and  carry  down  slate-clay,  and  spread  it  on 
the  foot  slopes,  and  on  the  flat  grounds  below. 

The  following  enumeration  of  the  manufacturing  people 
of  Pittsburg  was  made  last  year.  It  gives  some  view  of  the 
nature  and  extent  of  the  business  carried  on. 

Hands 

Employers  Employed 

i  Augur  Maker 6 

1  Bellows  Maker 3 

18  Blacksmiths 74 

3  Brewers 17 

3  Brush  Makers 7 

1  Button  Maker  .         .         •■•-.-         •  °" 

2  Cotton  Spinners 36 

7  Cabinet-Makers 43 

ii  Copper  and  Tin  Smiths     ....  100 

1  Currier 4 

2  Cutlers 6 

4  Iron  Founders 87 

87  The  Pennsylvania  legislature,  having  purchased  from  the  Indians  the  land 
north  and  west  of  the  Allegheny  River,  in  1789  ordered  a  tract  opposite  Pitts- 
burg to  be  laid  off  in  lots  and  sold  to  satisfy  the  claims  of  the  state  troops.  Alle- 
gheny City,  thus  established,  by  its  proximity  to  Pittsburg  shared  in  the  rapid 
growth  of  the  latter,  becoming  a  borough  in  1828  and  a  city  in  1840. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America 


85 


Hands 

Employers                                                                  Employed 

3  Gun  Smiths 14 

2  Flint  Glass  Manufactories 

82 

3  Green  ditto        ditto 

92 

2  Hardware  Manufactories  . 

i7 

7  Hatters  . 

49 

1  Locksmith 

7 

1  Linen  Manufactory 

20 

1  Nail          ditto 

47 

1  Paper  Maker  . 

40 

[62]  1  Pattern  Maker 

2 

3  Plane  Makers  . 

6 

1  Potter  (fine  ware) 

5 

1  Rope  Maker    . 

8 

1  Spinning  Machine  Maker 

6 

1  Spanish  Brown  Manufactory 

2 

1  Silver  Plater    .         .         .         .    ■   ■ 

40 

2  Steam-Engine  Makers 

70 

2  Steam  Grist  Mills     .... 

10 

6  Saddlers           ..... 

60 

5  Silversmiths  and  Watch  Repairers.     . 

17 

14  Shoe  and  Boot  Makers 

109 

7  Tanners  and  Curriers 

47 

4  Tallow  Chandlers     .... 

7 

4  Tobacconists   .                  ... 

23 

2  Weavers           .         .         .         .         . 

9 

3  Windsor  Chair  Makers 

23 

2  Woolen  Manufactories 

30 

1  Wire  Drawer   . 

12 

1  White  Lead  Factory 

6 

Tot 

al  1280 

Besides  the  above,  it  is  surmised  that  there  are  three 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  manufacturing  people,  of  which 
no  estimate  has  been  furnished  by  the  conductors.  There 
is,  besides,  a  chemical  manufactory,  in  which  ammonia, 


86  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

copperas,  lamp  black,  ivory  black,  and  various  acids,  are 
prepared. 

Formerly  large  ships  were  built  at  Pittsburg,  which 
sailed  down  the  river  during  floods:  large  keel  boats,  cap- 
able of  either  ascending  or  descending  the  river.'8  Square 
arks,  family  boats,  and  small  skiffs,  are  built  in  great 
numbers.  A  steamboat  of  330  tons  burden,  for  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio,  is  nearly  completed. 

The  conveyance  of  goods  from  Philadelphia  [63]  and 
Baltimore,  together  with  their  warehousing  and  boating, 
produces  much  business  here.  In  the  year  1813,  no  less 
than  4055  waggons,  engaged  in  this  trade,  were  calculated 
to  have  passed  the  road.  The  number  employed  now 
must  be  considerably  increased. 

Pittsburg  also  derives  much  advantage  from  its  being 
the  thoroughfare  of  settlers  for  the  western  country.  Here 
they  sell  their  horses  and  waggons;  here  they  often  remain 
waiting  for  a  rise  of  water.  Here  also  they  purchase  boats, 
and  lay  in  a  stock  of  provisions  for  their  passage  down  the 
river. 

The  waters  of  the  Ohio  are  now  lower  than  they  have 
been  for  many  years  past.  Merchants  with  their  goods, 
and  families  with  their  baggage,  find  it  impossible  to  get 
downward.  Some  whose  moveables  are  light,  are  making 
the  attempt.  Many  emigrants  are  proceeding  with  their 
waggons  by  land.  Where  the  distance  does  not  exceed 
three  or  four  hundred  miles,  this  will,  at  present,  be  found 
the  more  economical  and  expeditious  mode  of  travelling. 

38  The  building  of  keel-boats,  barges,  and  later  brigs  and  schooners,  had  been 
one  of  the  foremost  occupations  of  Pittsburg  since  1790.  Seaworthy  ships  were 
here  launched  and  floated  to  New  Orleans,  whence  they  sailed  to  foreign 
as  well  as  domestic  ports.  See  Harris's  Journal,  volume  iii  of  our  series,  pp. 
349,  353.  Steamboat  building  was  begun  here  by  agents  of  Fulton,  seven 
years  previous  to  Flint's  arrival. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  87 

September  30.  Emigrants  continue  to  flock  westward. 
To-day  the  numerous  inmates  and  followers  of  three  large 
waggons  arrived  in  a  body.  It  is  truly  interesting  to  see 
people  of  different  countries,  and  of  different  costumes, 
coming  forward  in  the  mail-coach,  on  horseback,  and  on 
foot.  At  first  view,  this  great  migration  leads  to  the  con- 
clusion, that  oppression,  and  the  fear  of  want,  are  in  ex- 
tensive operation  somewhere  to  the  eastward. 

October  4.  {Sunday.)  This  afternoon  three  fights  have 
taken  place  in  Bayardstown,  a  small  appendage  of  Pitts- 
burg.88 These  originated  from  private  quarrels  in  tav- 
erns. The  combatants  sallied  from  [64]  them  to  the  street, 
where  the  battles  were  fought  in  the  presence  of  the  passen- 
gers. There  are  five  taverns  in  this  place;  of  course  only 
two  of  them  have  escaped  being  scenes  of  action.  This  is 
not  in  perfect  agreement  with  the  character  of  sobriety, 
absence  of  dissipation  and  gross  vices,  that  a  late  describer 
of  Pittsburg  has  given  of  its  people.40 

October  9.  The  people  are  in  great  ferment  about  the 
ensuing  election.  Newspapers  teem  with  the  most  viru- 
lent abuse;  and  one  of  the  candidates  for  Congress  has 
fought  with  a  lawyer  in  town.  It  would  be  useless  to  in- 
quire after  particulars,  as  facts  are  always  differently 
represented  by  opposite  parties. 

A  farmer,  who  lives  at  the  distance  of  a  few  miles  from 
this  place,  told  me  that  he  is  a  native  of  Ireland,  and  that 
he  had  not  fifty  dollars  in  the  world,  fifteen  years  ago;  now, 
he  would  not  take  4000  dollars  for  his  property.  He  com- 
menced alone,  and  has  not  followed  any  other  occupation 

89  Stephen  Bayard,  a  colonel  in  the  Revolutionary  army,  later  a  merchant  in 
Pittsburg,  bought  from  the  Penns,  when  the  town  was  laid  out  (1784),  thirty- 
two  lots  on  the  present  Penn  and  Liberty  streets;  a  district  known  for  many 
years  as  Bayardstown. —  Ed. 

40  An  American  writer. —  Flint. 


88  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

than  the  cultivation  of  his  farm,  and  the  sale  of  its  produce. 
However  strange  this  may  appear  in  Europe,  an  individual 
farming  in  the  new  settlements  of  America,  is  an  occurrence 
too  common  to  excite  wonder. 

October  13.  To-day  the  inhabitants  of  Pennsylvania 
elect  their  Representatives  in  Congress,  Members  of  the 
State  Assembly,  and  County  Officers.  I  have  gone  re- 
peatedly to  the  court-house  of  Pittsburg,  to  see  the  pop- 
ular proceedings.  The  citizens  wrap  up  the  names  of  the 
candidates  they  recommend  in  a  small  slip  of  paper, 
which  they  hand  through  the  open  pane  of  a  window  to 
the  inspector,  an  officer  previously  appointed  for  [65] 
counting  the  tickets.  This  way  of  balloting,  places  the 
poor  man  beyond  the  control  of  his  superior  or  creditor. 
I  have  seen  no  riot  or  confusion.  Populous  cities,  in 
America,  are  divided  into  wards,  where  separate  elections 
are  held  at  the  same  time ;  a  salutary  precaution,  that  pre- 
vents the  assembling  of  great  crowds. 

The  shortness  of  my  stay,  and  my  limited  acquaintance 
with  the  people,  do  not  allow  me  to  say  much  of  their 
character.  A  considerable  degree  of  industry  is  mani- 
fested by  the  bustle  that  pervades  the  town.  This  virtue, 
however,  does  not  prevail  to  the  extinction  of  dissipation. 
Swearing  is  certainly  the  most  conspicuous  vice.  Some 
affirm  that  a  class  of  people,  whom  they  denominate  low 
Irish,  are  the  most  immoral  of  the  population.  It  gives  no 
pleasure,  to  hear  such  a  reflection  on  the  peasantry  of  a 
country,  distinguished  by  the  hospitality,  generosity,  and 
bravery,  of  its  people.  In  justice  to  humanity,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  bear  in  mind,  that  they  have  not  enjoyed  the  means 
of  a  good  education  in  their  native  country;  and  it  is  proper 
to  mention,  that  there  are  natives  of  Ireland  here,  who 
have  risen  to  opulence,  and  deserved  eminence  in  society. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  89 

The  recollection  of  several  of  these,  and  other  worthy 
citizens  of  Pittsburg,  will  always  be  accompanied  with 
sentiments  of  my  esteem. 

The  weather  continuing  clear,  and  without  the  least 
prospect  of  a  flood,  I  have  procured  a  skiff,  and  deter- 
mined on  proceeding  down  the  river.  The  skiff  is  15 \ 
feet  long,  3 J  wide  across  the  gunwale,  and  14  inches 
deep.  This  is  supposed  to  be  sufficiently  large  for  carry- 
ing myself  and  baggage,  (about  800  lbs.)  The  sides  are 
composed  of  two  boards  of  pine,  three  quarters  of  an  inch 
thick;  the  bottom  flat,  and  of  the  same  material.  It  is  a 
light,  [66]  and  certainly  not  a  strong  bark.  My  other 
equipments  are,  a  copy  of  the  Pittsburg  Navigator,  (a 
book  recommended  as  useful,  in  pointing  out  the  proper 
course  for  avoiding  bars,  and  the  points  where  rapids  are 
to  be  entered;)41  small  quantities  of  bread,  cheese,  and 
dried  deer;  a  small  flask  with  spirits;  and  a  tinned  cup,  to 
be  used  both  in  drinking  water  from  the  river,  and  in  cast- 
ing out  bilge  water.  Over  the  after  part  of  the  skiff  three 
hoops  are  fixed,  in  the  form  of  an  arch.  A  sheet  stretched 
over  these,  will  form  a  canopy  under  which  I  may  sleep, 
by  the  margin  of  the  river. 

LETTER  VI 

Descend  the  Ohio  from  Pittsburg  to  Beaver  —  Occurrences 
and  remarks  there 

Atkinson9 s  Tavern,  by  Beaver, 
28th  October,  1818. 
As  a  great  part  of  my  notes  since  I  last  wrote,  relate  to 
rapids,  bars,  islands,  &c.  I  shall  omit  the  description  of 
many  of  them,  as  being  altogether  uninteresting. 

41  For  the  Pittsburg  Navigator,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our  series, 
note  43. —  Ed. 


90  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

On  the  14th  of  October,  I  embarked  on  the  Mononga- 
hela,  about  half  a  mile  above  its  junction  with  the  Alle- 
gany. A  gentleman  to  whom  I  had  been  introduced,  very 
kindly  assisted  me  in  arranging  my  lading,  and  rowed  me 
down  to  the  lower  point  of  the  town. 

The  Allegany  being  a  clear,  and  the  Monongahela  [67] 
a  turbid  river,  their  compound,  the  Ohio,  as  might  be  ex- 
pected, is  of  the  intermediate  character.  The  mud,  that 
covers  the  gravel  at  the  height  of  three  or  four  feet  above 
the  present  level  of  the  water,  shows,  that  a  very  slight 
rising  of  the  river  carries  much  soil  along  with  it.  One  of 
the  earliest  writers  who  gives  a  detail  of  the  beauties  of  this 
river,  states,  that  the  bottom,  and  even  fishes,  may  be  seen 
in  several  fathoms  of  water.  During  the  present  dry 
season,  the  bottom  is  indistinctly  visible  at  the  depth  of 
five  or  six  feet.  The  water,  when  taken  up  in  a  bright 
tinned  vessel,  appears  to  be  perfectly  limpid;  but  after 
standing  in  it  for  an  hour,  a  very  small  sediment  is 
deposited.  From  the  experience  of  boatmen,  and 
others  who  drink  this  water,  it  is  understood  to  be 
healthful. 

To  me  this  was  a  novel  method  of  travelling.  Steep 
ridges  of  hills  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  about  300  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  these  covered  with  a 
profusion  of  timber,  now  clothed  in  all  the  variegated  hues 
of  autumn,  form  an  avenue  of  the  most  magnificent  descrip- 
tion. For  nearly  the  length  of  six  miles,  the  surface  of  the 
water  has  all  the  smoothness  of  a  mill-pond,  which  gave  an 
additional  effect  to  the  scenery,  but  which  imposed  on  me 
the  labour  of  rowing  incessantly.  My  boat,  besides  being 
without  rudder,  or  even  that  short  piece  of  keel  in  the 
after-part  which  is  so  essential  in  moving  forward  in  a 
straight  line,  went  on  in  a  zig-zag  direction,  occasioning 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  91 

much  trouble,  and  promising  no  great  degree  of  safety 
on  my  coming  into  quick  running  water. 

At  a  rapid,  six  miles  from  Pittsburg,  a  boat  has  recently 
been  stove.  I  saw  the  people  on  shore  drying  their  goods. 
In  this  same  rapid,  my  ill  sailing  bark  put  about  broad- 
side to  the  current.  On  reaching  the  lower  extremity  of 
the  declivity,  [68]  my  situation  was  rather  alarming. 
Here  the  violence  of  the  current  being  opposed  by  deeper 
and  more  placid  water,  produces  a  sort  of  heaving  motion. 
The  sidelong  motion  over  this  swelling  surface,  was  much 
aggravated  by  a  top-heavy  load.  Travellers  are  fortu- 
nate when  they  arrive  early  in  the  season,  as  the  stream 
at  that  period  propels  a  boat  much  quicker  than  the  most 
laborious  rowing  can  do  now. 

After  having  passed  several  rapids,  which  are  commonly 
called  ripples  in  this  country,  I  attempted  to  land  for  the 
night,  on  the  head  of  Dead  Man's  Island,  a  low  bar  covered 
with  small  willows,  but  found  the  water  to  be  so  shallow 
that  I  could  not  approach  the  dry  ground,  and  that  with  a 
short  rope,  I  could  not  effect  a  mooring  to  any  log,  bush, 
or  fixed  object.  The  possibility  of  an  unforeseen  rise  of 
water  in  such  a  long  river  caused  me  to  determine  not  to 
sleep  aground,  without  being  securely  fastened.  It  was 
now  nearly  dark,  and  I  judged  it  impossible  to  cross  to  the 
opposite  shore  to  find  a  mooring,  as  the  roaring  of  the  Dead 
Man's  Ripple,  (a  furious  rapid,  between  the  island  and 
the  right  hand  shore,)  convinced  me  that  I  was  already 
almost  within  its  draught.  The  only  alternative  which 
remained,  was  to  push  into  the  principal  stream.  I 
adopted  it,  and  was  soon  carried  through  an  impetuous 
winding  channel,  where  I  could  perceive  large  dark-col- 
oured masses,  supposed  to  be  rocks,  above  water,  at  small 
distances  on  each  side. 


92  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

October  15.  Last  night  I  put  ashore  about  half  a  mile 
below  the  Dead  Man's  Ripple.  The  margin  was  of  a 
convenient  depth,  admitting  my  lying  aground,  to  avoid 
the  danger  of  my  leaky  bark's  sinking  in  the  night.  Hav- 
ing made  it  fast  to  a  log,  and  piled  up  my  boxes  toward 
the  prow,  and  spread  three  pieces  of  board  over  the  seats 
behind  for  a  [69]  bed,  I  covered  the  three  hoops  with  a 
sheet  for  a  canopy,  laid  down  my  portmanteau  for  a 
pillow,  and  wrapping  myself  in  a  blanket,  I  went  to  rest. 

As  I  neither  saw  any  light,  nor  heard  the  voice  of  a 
human  being,  I  imagined  that  I  was  far  from  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  any  house.  The  only  sounds  that  saluted 
my  ear,  arose  from  bells  attached  to  cows  in  the  woods, 
and  from  the  breakers  produced  by  the  Ripple.  The 
sheet  which  served  me  for  a  roof,  was  not  long  enough 
to  reach  the  sides  of  the  boat,  a  cold  wind  that  blew 
down  the  river,  passed  in  a  constant  current  through  my 
lodgment,  and  for  a  considerable  time  prevented  me  from 
sleeping.  About  midnight  I  heard  the  noise  of  footsteps 
approaching  me  on  the  gravel,  and  looked  out  to  see  what 
my  visitor  might  be:  a  faint  glimmering  of  moon-light  en- 
abled me  to  discover  the  white  face  of  a  young  cow  that 
had  come  down  to  drink. 

It  would  be  imprudent  to  sleep  ashore  and  leave  goods 
in  a  boat  on  the  river,  boatmen  being  much  blamed  for 
stealing. 

I  put  off  about  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning.  A  con- 
tinuation of  the  same  ridges  of  hills,  and  the  same  woods, 
bounded  the  view  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  The  bottom 
land  is  narrow,  and  the  parts  which  have  been  cleared  are 
chiefly  covered  with  crops  of  Indian  corn.  Bottom  land 
is  of  two  sorts;  the  lower  by  the  margin  of  the  river;  and 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  93 

the  higher  by  the  foot  of  the  ridge.  The  lower  bottoms 
are  about  twenty  feet  higher  than  the  surface  of  low  water; 
but  as  the  trees  on  the  beach  are  peeled  by  ice  and  drifted 
wood,  to  the  height  of  four  or  five  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  ground,  occasioned  by  floods;  it  follows  that  the  lower 
bottoms  are  subject  to  inundation,  and  that  their  height 
must  be  increased  [70]  by  the  earth  deposited  from  every 
high  rising  of  the  waters.  Nothing,  in  the  present  state 
of  things,  seems  to  offer  a  solution  of  the  formation  of  the 
higher  bottoms,  which  are  here  about  twenty  feet  higher 
than  the  lower  ones,  and  appear  to  be  equally  flat,  and 
forming  plains  parallel  to  them.  I  shall  hereafter  be  very 
attentive  to  facts  with  regard  to  this  anomaly. 

About  six  hundred  yards  above  the  mouth  of  Big  Beaver 
Creek,  my  skiff  ran  upon  the  top  of  a  large  mass  of  stone 
under  water,  which  the  ripplings  occasioned  by  a  slight 
breeze  of  wind,  prevented  me  from  seeing.  In  attempting 
to  push  her  off,  she  upset,  so  as  to  admit  a  gush  of  water 
all  along  the  lower  side.  The  hoops  over  her  after  part, 
not  allowing  me  to  leap  directly  upon  the  stone,  I  plunged 
into  the  water  and  mounted  the  stone  just  in  time  to  catch 
the  bark  by  the  after  part,  and  prevent  it  from  being  carried 
down  by  the  stream.  By  a  considerable  exertion,  I  suc- 
ceeded in  keeping  the  after  end  close  to  the  stone,  while 
the  fore  part  sunk  obliquely  to  a  great  depth  in  the  water. 
Here  the  cargo  must  unavoidably  have  slipped  into  the 
bottom  of  the  river,  except  for  a  large  box,  that  wedged 
itself  into  the  narrow  forepart  of  the  boat,  and  the  others, 
resting  on  it,  were  kept  in  their  places.  Two  black  men 
came  in  a  skiff  to  my  relief.  They  took  me  in,  and  rowed 
toward  the  shore,  while  I  still  retained  my  hold  of  the 
wreck,  and  succeeded  in  getting  it  safely  moored.    This 


94  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

interruption  happened  exactly  before  the  door  of  a  tavern, 
where  I  was  accommodated  with  board,  and  the  means  of 
having  my  baggage  dried. 

Afternoon.  While  exposing  my  books  to  the  wind,  a 
respectable  looking  man,  apparently  a  farmer,  entered 
into  conversation  with  me.  His  inquiries  [71]  respecting 
the  scientific  and  literary  personages  of  Edinburgh,  and 
his  acquaintance  with  the  poetry  and  provincial  dialect  of 
Scotland,  were  more  minute  than  I  could  have  expected 
in  this  part  of  the  world. 

October  16.  I  have  discovered  that  my  skiff  is  too  weak 
for  carrying  any  considerable  weight.  It  is  so  much 
strained,  that  many  of  the  nails  have  their  heads  drawn 
half  an  inch  out  of  the  timber,  and  others  much  more. 
The  misfortune  of  the  15th,  has  probably  saved  me  from 
a  worse  one.  The  system  of  boat  building  at  Pittsburg 
cannot  be  too  strongly  reprobated.  Defects  in  caulking, 
in  the  number,  and  in  the  strength  of  the  nails,  were  in 
the  case  of  my  boat,  disgraceful.42 

October  19.  A  farmer,  in  removing  Indian  corn  from 
an  island  to  his  residence,  had  his  flat  sunk,  and  much  of 
the  cargo  lost,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  point  where  I 
stopped  short.  I  am  resolved  on  procuring  a  better  skiff, 
and  waiting  a  few  days  in  hopes  of  a  rise  of  water.  Floods 
at  or  before  this  season  of  the  year,  are  considered  annual 
occurrences.  The  oldest  residents  recollect  of  only  one 
year  in  which  there  was  no  autumnal  rise  of  the  Ohio. 

October  20.  The  mornings  and  evenings  are  now  cool, 
usually  about  340  of  Fahrenheit's  scale.  To-day,  at  two 
o'clock  P.M.  the  temperature  of  the  sun's  rays  was  900. 

a  Had  Flint  read  his  Navigator  carefully,  he  would  have  found  specific  warn- 
ings on  the  subject  of  defective  boats;  these  were  on  every  occasion  palmed  off 
on  the  uninitiated  by  Pittsburg  sharpers. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  95 

Thick  fogs  continue  over  the  river  in  the  mornings,  till 
eight  or  nine  o'clock.  These  are  no  doubt  occasioned  by 
the  water  being  hotter  than  the  air.  The  radiant  heat 
passing  upward,  necessarily  carries  humidity  with  it, 
which  is  immediately  condensed,  and  rendered  visible  by 
the  colder  air.  Whenever  the  heat  of  the  air  is  of  a  tem- 
perature equal  to  that  of  the  water,  the  phenomenon  disap- 
pears. The  same  principle  may  be  [72]  very  plausibly 
applied,  in  explaining  the  autumnal  risings  of  the  Ohio. 
The  great  and  long  continued  heats  of  summer  in  this 
country,  render  the  air  capable  of  accumulating  a  great 
quantity  of  moisture.  It  is  not  till  the  sun  recedes  con- 
siderably to  the  southward,  and  till  a  great  portion  of  the 
atmosphere  is  cooled,  that  rains  are  precipitated  over  any 
great  extent  of  the  country.  The  Allegany  mountains,  and 
other  high  parts,  are  soonest  cooled,  and  first  produce  a 
deposition  of  rain.  Hence  autumnal  floods  occur,  which 
proceed  from  the  higher  country  alone,  without  correspond- 
ing risings  in  the  lower  tributaries  of  the  Ohio.  In 
seasons  when  the  heat  continues  long,  the  flood  occurs 
late.  With  such  hot  days  as  we  now  enjoy,  a  rising  in  the 
river  is  not  to  be  expected. 

2&ih.  Went  up  Beaver  Creek.43  This  is  a  large  stream, 
with  a  rapid  descent  over  a  sandstone  bottom.  Within 
three  miles  of  its  mouth  there  are  three  saw-mills,  a  grist- 
mill, an  iron  furnace  and  forge,  a  fulling-mill,  a  carding- 
mill,  and  a  mill  for  bruising  flax-seed.  At  the  iron  fur- 
nace, cast  goods  are  fabricated,  the  coarsest  that  I  have 
ever  seen.  Coal  is  abundant,  but  not  used  in  reducing 
the  ores. 

It  has  been  suggested,  that  a  navigation  connecting  Cay- 

48  For  the  early  history  of  Beaver  Creek,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i 
of  our  series,  note  93. —  Ed. 


96  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ahogo,  on  Lake  Erie,  with  Alexandria  on  the  Potomak, 
should  pass  through  Big  Beaver  Creek;44  but  it  appears 
altogether  improper  that  such  a  communication  should  de- 
scend so  low  as  the  mouth  of  this  creek,  thereby  incurring 
the  ascent  of  the  Ohio  to  Pittsburg,  and  the  Monongahela 
to  the  bases  of  the  Allegany  ridge.  The  longer  route  to 
New  York  seems  to  be  vastly  preferable,  and,  as  it  is  now 
in  progress,  it  must  supersede  the  Pennsylvanian  line. 

I  saw  some  people  thrashing  buck  wheat :  they  had  dug 
a  hollow  in  the  field,  about  twenty  feet  in  [73]  diameter, 
and  six  or  eight  inches  in  depth.  In  this  the  grain  was 
thrashed  by  the  flail,  and  the  straw  thrown  aside  to  rot  in 
the  field.  The  wheat  is  cleared  of  the  chaff  by  two  persons 
fanning  it  with  a  sheet,  while  a  third  lets  it  fall  before  the 
wind. 

Indian  corn  is  separated  from  the  husks  or  leaves  that 
cover  the  ear,  by  the  hands.  In  the  evenings  neighbours 
convene  for  this  purpose.  Apples  are  also  pared  for  pres- 
ervation in  a  similar  way.  These  are  commonly  convivial 
meetings,  and  are  well  attended  by  young  people  of  both 
sexes. 

A  respectable  English  family  put  ashore  with  a  leaky 
boat,  almost  in  the  act  of  sinking.  They  had  run  foul  of 
a  log  in  a  ripple.  The  craft,  called  family  boats,  are 
square  arks,  nine  or  ten  feet  wide,  and  varying  in  length 
as  occasion  may  require.  They  are  roofed  all  over,  except 
a  small  portion  of  the  fore  part,  where  two  persons  row. 
At  the  back  end,  a  person  steers  with  an  oar,  protruded 

44  It  was  Washington's  favorite  plan  to  unite  the  waters  of  the  Potomac  and 
Ohio,  and  in  turn,  those  of  the  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie,  by  means  of  canals.  The 
Beaver  River  was  always  one  of  the  possible  links  in  this  chain  of  inland  commu- 
nication between  the  Great  Lakes  and  tidewater.  As  Flint  observes,  the  Erie 
Canal  (completed  in  1825)  was  the  most  feasible,  and  eventually  the  only  suc- 
cessful, undertaking  to  join  the  sea  and  the  lakes. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  97 

through  a  hole,  and  a  small  fire-place  is  built  of  brick.  Such 
boats  are  so  formed  as  to  carry  all  the  necessaries  of  new 
settlers.  The  plough,  and  the  body  of  the  waggon,  are 
frequently  to  be  seen  lying  on  the  roof;  and  the  wheels 
hung  over  the  sides.  The  bottom  is  made  of  strong 
plank,  not  liable  to  be  stove  in,  except  where  the  water  is 
in  rapid  motion ;  and  the  whole  fabric  is  exempt  from  the 
danger  of  upsetting,  except  in  violent  gales  of  wind. 
Family  boats  cost  from  thirty  to  fifty  dollars  at  Pittsburg. 
A  great  proportion  of  the  families  to  be  seen,  are  from  the 
northern  parts  of  New  York,  and  Pennsylvania,  also  from 
the  state  Vermont,  and  other  parts.  They  have  de- 
scended the  Allegany,  a  river  that  I  have  not  hitherto 
mentioned  as  a  thoroughfare  of  travellers.45 

The  gentleman  mentioned  in  a  former  paragraph,  is 

Brigadier  General  L k,46  who  [74]  is  at  present  a 

member  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  I  have  had 
several  accidental  interviews  with  him,  and  find  that  he 
is  acquainted  with  the  late  works  of  imagination  and  taste 
published  in  Edinburgh,  down  to  the  Second  Series  of  the 
Tales  of  My  Landlord.47 

October  28.  Settlers  continue  to  be  much  retarded  in 
getting  down  the  river.  Head  winds  oblige  them  to  put 
ashore  sometimes  for  a  whole  day.  Families  for  the  east- 
ern parts  of  Ohio  State,  are  proceeding  by  the  road.  The 
father  may  be  seen  driving  the  waggon;  and  the  women 

46  The  Allegheny  route  was  the  common  one  for  New  England  emigrants  who 
had  journeyed  through  New  York  on  the  old  Genesee  Road;  it  became  of  more 
importance  after  the  Erie  Canal  was  in  operation.  See  Buttrick's  Voyages, 
volume  viii  of  our  series. —  Ed. 

48  For  a  brief  biography  of  General  Lacock,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv 
of  our  series,  note  57. —  Ed. 

47  "Tales  of  My  Landlord,"  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  include  The  Black  Dwarf, 
Old  Mortality,  The  Heart  of  Midlothian,  etc.  The  two  former  were  published 
in  1816  and  the  latter  in  1818. —  Ed. 


98  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

and  children  bringing  up  two  or  three  cows  in  the  rear. 
They  carry  their  provisions  along  with  them,  and  wrap 
themselves  in  blankets,  and  sleep  on  the  floors  of  taverns. 
The  hostess  here  does  not  charge  any  thing  for  this  sort  of 
entertainment. 

Travelling  by  land  at  this  season  is,  for  various  reasons, 
economical.  Families  by  this  means  avoid  delay  and  ex- 
pense at  Pittsburg;  they  are  not  obliged  to  sell  their  wag- 
gons and  horses  at  an  under  value  there;  but  take  them 
along,  as  a  necessary  stock  for  their  farms;  and  they 
are  not  put  to  the  expense  of  a  boat,  which  would  be  ulti- 
mately sold  for  a  mere  trifle,  or  left  to  rot  by  the  water 
side.  Besides,  their  rate  of  travelling  is  now  more  speedy 
than  by  water.  Those  who  go  below  Wheeling  will  have 
a  farther  advantage,  as  the  distance  from  Pittsburg  to  that 
place  is  38  miles  shorter  than  by  the  river.  The  waggons 
and  horses  must  also  be  of  immediate  use  to  those,  who 
settle  at  a  distance  from  navigable  waters.  It  is  impossible 
to  state  the  distance  to  which  horses  and  waggons  should 
be  carried  from  Pittsburg;  this  wholly  depends  on  the  state 
of  the  river,  the  quantity  of  goods  to  be  transported,  the 
price  of  freight,  (if  paying  passage  instead  of  purchasing 
a  boat  is  contemplated,)  the  [75]  price  of  a  boat,  and  the 
certain  loss  on  selling  horses  and  waggons  at  Pittsburg. 
Strangers  will  do  well  to  make  strict  inquiries,  and  the 
most  careful  calculations,  of  the  expense  of  both  modes 
of  travelling,  previous  to  the  adoption  of  either  of  them. 

After  examining  the  advantage  of  the  different  ways  of 
travelling,  it  will  be  but  an  ordinary  exercise  of  candour 
to  state  wherein  I  have  erred  myself. — I  purchased  a  skiff, 
too  small  and  too  weak  for  my  purpose,  and  I  ought  not 
to  have  undertaken  the  passage  without  taking  some  per- 
son along  with  me,  who  would  have  been  continually  on 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  99 

the  outlook  for  stones  or  logs  under  water,  and  who  occa- 
sionally would  have  steered  my  bark.  Being  obliged  to 
sit  on  a  low  seat  with  my  back  forward,  I  was  most  un- 
favourably placed  for  observing  obstacles  in  the  way,  and, 
on  approaching  rapids,  I  was  usually  in  the  very  draught 
of  them,  before  I  could  discern  the  proper  channel. 

The  weather  has  of  late  been  cold  during  the  night, 
and  the  season  is  so  far  advanced  that  I  cannot  calculate 
on  sleeping  hereafter  in  an  open  boat.  To  enable  me  to 
put  my  baggage  ashore  every  night,  I  have  procured 
smaller  boxes,  to  supersede  the  use  of  larger  ones.  Trav- 
ellers in  this  country  ought  not  to  adopt  large  boxes, 
which  are  the  most  liable  to  injury,  from  the  jolting  of 
waggons,  and  are  comparatively  unmanageable  on  every 
occasion.  Eighty  or  a  hundred  pounds,  are  enough  for 
each  parcel. 

There  is  not  the  least  appearance  of  a  rise  on  the  river. 
I  have  exchanged  my  pine  skiff  for  a  larger  and  a  stronger 
oak  one,  and  have  determined  on  getting  once  more  upon 
the  water. 

During  my  stay  here,  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of 
living  with  a  polite  and  respectable  family,  which  has 
treated  me  with  the  utmost  civility;  [76]  their  integrity  is 
beyond  suspicion. — If  I  had  entertained  any  doubt  on 
that  head,  the  very  repacking  of  my  baggage  would  at  once 
have  removed  it. — My  inventory  is  complete,  not  a  single 
article  is  wanting. 


i  oo  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 


LETTER  VII 48 

Descend  the  Ohio  from  Beaver  —  Georgetown  —  Steuben- 
ville  —  Wellsburgh  —  Warren  —  Wheeling  —  Marietta 

—  Muskingum  river  —  Guyandat  river  —  Letarts  rap- 
ids —  Kanhaway  river  —  Point  Pleasant  —  Galliopolis 

—  Big  Sandy  river  —  Portsmouth  —  Occurrences  and 
Remarks  interspersed. 

Portsmouth,  Ohio,  iSth  Nov.  181 8. 

On  the  29th  of  October  I  again  got  afloat. — The  weather 
clear  and  fine,  but  the  current  of  the  river  in  most  parts  so 
slow  that  the  eye  could  scarcely  discover  its  motion. — 
Passed  the  mouth  of  Big  Beaver  Creek,  29^  miles  from 
Pittsburg. 

Stopped  for  the  night  at  a  tavern  42 1  miles  from  Pitts- 
burg. Opposite,  on  the  Virginia  shore  of  the  river,  stands 
Georgetown,  a  neat  village,  with  a  public  ferry. — On  little 
Beaver  Creek  are  several  grist  and  saw  mills,  a  paper-mill, 
and  several  other  machines.  In  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  I 
observed  that  the  surface  of  the  water  was  tinged  with  the 
oil  of  naphtha. 

A  young  gentleman,  from  Virginia,  had  stopped  in  the 
tavern  sick;  the  hostess  and  neighbours  [77]  were  very 
attentive  to  the  unfortunate  stranger. 

October  30.  At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  below  Little 
Beaver  Creek,  the  meridional  line  crosses  the  river,  which 
separates  Pennsylvania  from  Virginia  on  the  south  side  of 
the  river,  and  from  the  State  of  Ohio  on  the  north  side. 

48  For  notes  on  the  following  persons  and  places  mentioned  in  this  chapter, 
see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i  of  our  series:  Yellow  Creek,  note  93;  Kanawha 
River,  note  101.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  volume  iii  of  our  series:  Wheeling, 
note  15;  Marietta,  note  16.  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  volume  iii  of  our  series: 
Pennsylvania-Virginia  boundary  line,  note  31;  Gallipolis,  note  34.  Harris's 
Journal,  volume  iii  of  our  series:  Putnam,  note  1.  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv 
of  our  series:  Georgetown,  note  59;  Steuben ville,  note  67;  Wellsburg,  note 
67;  Grave  Creek,  note  78.— Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  101 

Big  Yellow  Creek  falls  into  the  Ohio  on  the  north  side. 
A  few  miles  up  this  creek  there  is  a  settlement  of  Scotch 
Highlanders.  The  soil  occupied  by  them  is  said  to  be 
thin  and  poor. 

After  pulling  all  day  against  contrary  winds,"  which,  in 
some  straight  parts  of  the  river,  raised  waves  that  beat 
upon  my  boat  with  considerable  force,  I  lodged  at  the 
Black  Horse  Tavern,  on  the  Virginia  side  of  the  river,  63 
miles  from  Pittsburg.  The  landlord  told  me  that  his 
charges  were,  in  some  measure,  regulated  by  the  appear- 
ance of  his  guests. — Where  a  family  seem  to  be  poor  and 
clever,  he  does  not  charge  any  thing  for  their  sleeping  on 
the  floor.  (By  clever,  he  meant  honest,  or  of  a  good  dis- 
position.) 

The  hills  that  bound  the  narrow  valley  of  the  river  are  of 
sandstone  and  clay  schist,  with  a  bed  of  coal  four  or  five 
feet  thick.  People  acquainted  with  the  country,  say  that 
the  hills  by  the  river,  and  by  the  creeks,  are  of  a  poorer 
soil  than  those  inland,  which  are  less  steep.  The  process 
of  inundation  is  probably  the  cause  of  the  difference. 

There  is  a  wider  interval  between  the  river  hills  here 
than  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pittsburg,  and  the  bottoms  are 
of  course  wider;  the  greater  part  of  them  being  on  the  north 
side  of  the  river.     On  the  south  side  negroes  are  numerous. 

On  the  forenoon  of  the  31st  a  heavy  rain  fell,  accom- 
panied with  loud  peals  of  thunder. —  Reverberation  [78] 
amongst  the  rocky  hills  and  woods  greatly  augmented  the 
sound. 

The  margin  of  the  river  is  lined  with  masses  of  sand- 
stone of  enormous  size.  Others  lie  in  the  middle,  with 
their  rounded  and  scratched  tops  exposed  above  water. 
All  these  must  have  been  detached  from  the  river  hills. 

Arrived  at  Steubenville,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio. 


102  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

This  town  stands  on  a  second  or  higher  bottom,  exempt 
from  the  inundations  so  unpleasant  on  the  first  or  lower 
plains.  There  are  several  hundred  acres  of  this  dry 
ground  adjacent  to  the  town,  the  largest  tract  of  the  kind 
that  I  have  seen  between  the  river  and  the  hills. 

This  place  is  named  Steubenville,  from  Baron  Steuben, 
in  consideration  of  his  philanthropic  services  rendered  to 
America,  during  the  revolutionary  war.  It  contains  up- 
wards of  2000  people;  and  it  is  regularly  laid  out,  and  the 
houses  built  of  brick,  wood,  and  a  few  are  of  stone,  all 
covered  with  shingles.  A  newspaper  is  printed  in  the 
town;  it  contains  also  a  woollen  manufactory,  a  paper-mill, 
a  grist-mill,  and  a  small  cotton-mill.  These  machines  are 
wrought  by  steam.  There  are  also  two  earthenware  man- 
ufactories, and  a  brewery  in  the  town,  four  preachers,  six 
lawyers,  five  surgeons,  twenty-seven  shops,  sixteen  taverns, 
two  banks,  and  a  considerable  number  of  artisans,  neces- 
sary to  the  existence  and  increase  of  the  place. 

The  aspect  of  the  river  hills,  by  Steubenville,  convey  the 
idea  that  they  are  better  land,  and  not  so  apt  to  be  washed 
down  by  rains,  as  those  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Pittsburg. 
—  I  have  had  no  opportunity  of  inquiring  into  the  cause. 

If  I  am  not  mistaken,  Steubenville  contains  a  greater 
proportion  of  orderly  and  religious  people,  [79]  than  some 
other  American  towns  which  I  have  seen.  I  entertain  a 
very  favourable  opinion  of  several  citizens,  to  whom  I  was 
introduced. 

November  3.  After  having  left  the  town,  and  proceeded 
about  a  mile  down  the  river,  Mr.  Hamilton  the  tavern- 
keeper,  with  whom  I  had  lodged,  came  along  the  bank, 
on  horseback,  calling  after  me.  I  landed,  and  he  deliv- 
ered to  me  an  article,  that  I  had  neglected  to  pack  up. 

Passed  a  young  man  in  a  small  skiff;  he  had  not  ballast 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  103 

enough  for  keeping  head  against  the  wind,  which  twirled 
his  vessel  round,  and  occasionally  drifted  him  up  the 
stream.  He  put  ashore,  as  did  also  a  family  boat,  that 
could  not  get  onward. 

The  wind  having  increased,  I  found  it  expedient  to 
land  at  Wellsburgh,  and  wait  till  the  gale  abated.  The 
waves  were  too  large  for  such  a  small  bark,  and,  in  making 
the  crossings  necessary  to  keep  in  the  proper  channel,  I 
was  in  danger  of  exposing  the  broadside  too  much  to  the 
weather. 

Wellsburgh,  (formerly  Charlestown,)  stands  on  the  Vir- 
ginia side  of  the  river.  It  is  a  small  town;  I  observed  in 
it  a  court-house,  a  jail,  a  large  store-house,  and  several 
taverns.  The  margin  of  the  river  is  so  shallow,  that  I 
could  not  push  my  skiff  within  twelve  feet  of  the  dry 
ground.  There  is  no  wharf  or  artificial  landing  place 
here,  or  at  any  of  the  towns  that  I  have  seen  by  the  river. 
The  floods  sweep  off  almost  every  thing  that  is  erected 
within  the  banks;  even  the  roads  that  are  scooped  out  of 
the  beach  are  at  times  destroyed.  Taverns  (out  of  town) 
have  only  a  rude  foot-path  cut  in  the  bank,  and  many  of 
them  have  not  a  trace  formed  by  the  hands  of  man. 

Afternoon.  The  wind  calmed,  and  I  proceeded  down- 
ward. I  came  up  with  two  young  men  in  a  [80]  small 
skiff;  one  of  them  put  off  his  coat  to  row,  and  the  other 
paddled  with  an  oar.  Their  intention  was  evidently  to 
keep  before  me,  but  they  were  soon  disappointed.  When 
one  small  boat  comes  up  with  another,  a  sort  of  race  is 
almost  invariably  the  consequence.  I  have  already  acted 
a  part  in  several  of  them,  and  have  uniformly  got  fore- 
most. On  one  occasion  I  was  opposed  by  three  men  in 
a  smaller  skiff  than  my  own.  I  impute  my  success  to  the 
superior  construction  of  my  vessel,  and  to  the  extraor- 


1 04  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

dinary  breadth  of  my  oars.  It  has  occurred  to  me,  that 
the  oars  in  general  use  are  much  too  narrow,  and  that  by 
adopting  broader  ones,  we  would  avail  ourselves  more  of 
the  vis  inertia  of  the  water,  that  of  course  is  the  sole  cause 
of  locomotion  in  a  vessel  propelled  by  rowing. 

On  a  dry  bar,  or  island  of  gravel,  I  observed  that  none  of 
the  weeds  were  close  by  the  present  margin  of  the  water, 
and  that  they  were  all  on  ground  at  least  two  feet  higher 
than  that  line,  an  evident  proof  that  the  surface  of  the  water 
must  have  been  about  two  feet  higher  during  the  summer 
months.  At  that  time  it  must  have  been  a  much  easier 
task  to  descend  the  river. 

I  landed  in  the  evening  at  Warren,49  a  small  town  on 
the  north  bank.  At  this  place  there  was  a  pedlar's  boat, 
a  small  ark,  which  is  removed  from  one  town  to  another. 
Internally  it  is  a  shop,  with  counter,  balances,  &c.  around 
the  sides  are  shelves,  with  goods,  in  the  usual  form. 

4ih.  Last  night  the  tavern  had  been  in  an  uproar  with 
a  large  party  of  gamblers. — Their  room  had  no  door,  and 
that  in  which  I  slept  had  none,  so  that  I  heard  much 
swearing  and  loud  vociferation.  About  four  o'clock  one 
of  the  gentlemen  retired  from  play,  and  laid  himself  down 
beside  me.  [81]  A  short  time  afterwards  another  entered 
the  room,  when  the  bar-keeper  advised  him  to  become  a 
third  of  our  party;  this  he  declined.  The  bar-keeper  next 
advised  that  he  should  take  a  part  of  the  clothes  from  our 
bed,  and  an  adjoining  one,  and  with  them  make  a  bed  for 
himself  on  the  floor. — This  he  also  declined;  probably 
judging  that  the  attempt  would  be  opposed. 

This  morning  a  contrary  wind  blew  hard.     Immedi- 

*•  As  early  as  1786  a  few  pioneers  had  established  themselves  at  the  mouth 
of  Indian  Short  Creek;  but  in  1805  the  town  was  surveyed,  a  public  sale  of  lots 
held,  and  the  name  Warren  given  to  it. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  105 

ately  below  the  town  there  is  a  rapid  current,  not  much 
ruffled  by  the  breeze,  but  a  long  stretch  of  deeper  water 
beyond  it  is  rolling  with  waves.50  Where  the  waves  and 
the  stream  meet,  white  breakers  are  formed.  Wishing  to 
avoid  these  as  much  as  possible,  I  took  a  young  man  of 
the  neighbourhood  with  me,  and  availed  myself  of  his 
local  knowledge. 

Wheeling  is  a  considerable  town  on  the  left  bank  of 
the  river,  ninety-six  miles  from  Pittsburg.  It  is  expected 
that  the  new  road  from  Baltimore  to  this  place  will  be  com- 
pleted in  the  course  of  a  year.51  This  being  a  national 
highway,  on  which  no  tolls  are  to  be  levied,  and  the  shortest 
connection  between  a  sea-port  and  the  Ohio,  a  great  in- 
crease of  trade  is  consequently  anticipated.52  Hereafter, 
Baltimore  will  be  the  most  proper  landing  place  for  Euro- 
peans who  would  settle  in  western  America.  At  present 
the  carriage  of  goods  from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling  is 
cheaper  than  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg.  From  this 
it  is  evident,  that  the  new  route  is  already  the  shortest  and 
the  cheapest. 

About  four  and  a  half  miles  below  Wheeling,  I  was  sur- 

80  It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  according  to  the  Moravian  missionary  John 
Heckewelder,  the  Ohio  River  received  its  name  from  the  white  caps  which  often 
made  canoe-travelling  temporarily  impossible.  When  it  was  covered  with  white 
caps  the  Indians  would  say  ' '  Kitschi  ohio-peekhaune, ' '  which  means  ' '  verily 
this  is  a  deep  white  river. '  '  See  ' '  Names  which  the  Lenni  Lenape  or  Delaware 
Indians  .  .  .  had  given  to  Rivers,  Streams,  etc., ' '  in  American  Philosophical 
Society  Transactions,  new  series,  iv,  pp.  369,  370.  The  commonly  accepted 
derivation,  that  given  by  La  Salle  and  the  early  French  explorers,  is  that 
"Ohio"  is  an  Iroquois  word,  meaning  "beautiful  river." —  Ed. 

81  The  Cumberland  National  Road  was  completed  to  the  Ohio  (Wheeling,  West 
Virginia)  in  this  year  (1818). —  Ed. 

83  Being  a  national  highway  no  tolls  were  originally  levied  on  the  Cumber- 
land Road;  this  being,  however,  a  most  logical  method  of  raising  money  for  the 
necessary  repairs,  the  road  was  ceded  to  the  states  through  which  it  ran  (1830- 
35),  and  the  latter  erected  toll-gates  and  levied  tolls. —  Ed 


1 06  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

prised  at  hearing  the  river  making  a  great  noise,  The  Pitts- 
burg navigator  not  giving  any  notice  of  a  rapid,  and 
as  a  thick  fog  prevented  me  from  seeing  the  cause,  I  went 
on  shore  to  reconnoitre.  Before  reaching  the  place  from 
whence  [82]  the  noise  proceeded,  a  boy  informed  me  that 
a  great  fresh  (flood)  in  M'Mahon's  Creek,  happened  last 
summer,  at  a  time  when  the  Ohio  was  low,  and  that  it  had 
carried  earth  and  trees  from  the  bottom  land,  together 
with  a  house  and  a  family,  into  the  river.  The  devasta- 
tion produced  by  this  torrent  is  truly  astonishing.  It  has 
cut  a  great  chasm  through  the  bottom  land,  which  is  about 
twenty-five  feet  high,  and  scooped  it  out  many  feet  lower 
than  the  surface  of  the  Ohio.  A  large  bar,  that  in  some 
measure  dams  the  river,  has  large  trees  intermixed  with 
it;  their  roots  and  branches  standing  above  the  water. 
This  is  the  obstacle  and  cause  that  occasion  the  noisy 
ripple. 

The  last  tavern  that  we  passed  here,  had  no  sign-board. 
In  consequence  of  which  I  supposed  it  to  be  a  private 
house,  and,  after  sailing  several  miles  down  the  river,  was 
obliged  to  put  ashore,  when  nearly  dusk,  at  a  farm-house 
about  nine  miles  below  Wheeling. 

November  5.  The  family  with  whom  I  lodged  last 
night,  seem  to  be  industrious  and  well  disposed.  Two 
daughters  were  busily  engaged  in  tailor  work  for  the  males. 
This,  they  said,  is  a  common  practice  in  the  country. 
They  also  told  me  of  a  young  lady  of  the  neighbourhood, 
who  had  just  gone  to  the  house  of  her  bridegroom,  to  make 
his  marriage  suit.  As  this  occurrence  was  told  with  some 
degree  of  disapprobation,  it  is  not  to  be  viewed  as  in  uni- 
son with  the  manners  of  the  people. 

Twelve  miles  and  a  half  below  Wheeling,  and  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  from  the  river,  on  the  left-hand  side,  there  is  a 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  107 

remarkable  mound  of  earth,  called  the  Big  Grave.  This 
hill  is  about  sixty-seven  feet  high,  a  hundred  and  eighty 
feet  broad  at  the  base,  and  about  twenty-two  feet  broad 
at  the  top,  which  is  a  little  hollow.  Some  have  supposed 
that  the  earth  [83]  has  been  brought  from  a  distance;  but, 
as  something  similar  to  a  ditch  is  to  be  seen  on  one  side 
of  it,  and  as  the  neighbouring  surface  is  uneven,  there  can 
be  no  strong  reason  to  warrant  the  conclusion.  Several 
fallen  trees  on  the  sides,  (for  it  is  covered  with  a  strong 
growth  of  timber,)  have  exposed  the  component  earth, 
which  is  a  fine  vegetable  soil.  It  is  not  known  that  the 
present  Indian  people  perform  such  works,  nor  is  it  be- 
lieved that  their  traditions  inculcate  veneration  towards 
these  monuments;  hence  their  origin  is  perfectly  obscure. 

On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  river,  and  about  four  miles 
below  Grave  Creek,  a  bed  of  coal  is  wrought.  It  lies  in  a 
horizontal  position,  and  under  high-water  mark.  Boats 
take  in  lading  close  by  the  mouth  of  the  mine. 

Lodged  at  a  tavern  thirty-four  miles  from  Wheeling, 
after  rowing  against  head-winds,  which  rendered  the  work 
somewhat  fatiguing.  In  the  evening  a  number  of  young 
men  came  in  from  a  husking  of  Indian  corn  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood; they  commenced  drinking  and  swearing,  all 
bawling  out  and  talking  at  once.  Such  noisy  gabbling  I 
never  before  heard. 

November  6.  To-day  I  got  into  a  long  stretch  of  the 
river,  where  it  is  straight  for  seventeen  miles.  This  part 
is  called  the  Long  Reach.53  The  wind  blew  upward,  and 
opposed  a  rolling  surface  to  my  progress.  The  labour 
was  hard,  but  the  headway  very  small;  family  boats  have 
been  obliged  to  land.    I  saw  some  young  men  in  a  canoe 

M  See  list  of  Americanisms,  post,  pp.  289-290;  also  Croghan's  Journals, 
volume  i  of  our  series,  note  96. —  Ed. 


108  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

who  had  just  killed  a  deer  in  the  act  of  crossing  the 
river. 

Lodged'at  a  tavern  about  half  way  down  the  long  Reach. 
Two  old  women,  (sisters,)  were  there,  one  was  in  quest  of 
her  husband,  and  the  other  of  her  daughter.  The  uncle 
is  forty-five  years  of  age,  and  the  niece  sixteen.  Affinity 
and  disparity  of  [84]  age  united,  have  not  been  sufficient  to 
prevent  the  elopement. 

From  Wheeling  to  near  this  place,  coal,  limestone,  and 
sandstone  are  abundant. 

In  my  passage,  I  have  seen  twenty-five  islands.  Some 
of  them  are  of  considerable  size;  the  second  below  Pitts- 
burg is  six  miles  long.  Islands  being  covered  with  timber, 
varying  in  size  from  the  shortest  willows  by  the  water's 
edge,  to  tall  trees  in  the  centre,  have  a  beautiful  appear- 
ance when  viewed  from  the  river  either  above  or  below 
them.  I  have  descended  twenty-two  ripples.  In  a  few 
of  these,  the  stranger  is  apt  to  feel  a  considerable  anxiety 
from  being  swept  hastily  along  amongst  logs,  with  their 
tops  above  water,  and  over  stones  and  logs  sunk  beneath 
its  surface. 

November  7.  The  inconvenience  and  expense  that 
attend  putting  my  baggage  ashore  every  night,  and  on 
board  every  morning,  are  great.  Tavern-keepers,  servants 
are  usually  of  their  own  families.  Freemen  in  early  life, 
they,  in  many  cases,  disregard  the  parental  command, 
however  reasonable.  If  I  mistake  not,  the  assistance 
which  I  paid  dearly  for,  was  sometimes  procured  by  my 
own  address  rather  than  a  sense  of  duty  on  their  part. 
Although  I  am  now  a  good  waterman,  and  outsail  every 
vessel  I  see,  I  resolved  to  adopt  a  more  convenient, 
though  less  expeditious  way  of  travelling. 

I  applied  to  the  master  of  a  large  keel  boat,  on  its  way 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  109 

for  Portsmouth,  at  the  mouth  of  great  Sciota  river,  to  be 
taken  on  board.  He  refused  to  take  me  as  a  passenger, 
but  was  willing  to  accept  of  me  on  condition  that  I  would 
row  in  the  place  of  a  man  who  was  about  to  leave  him. 
I  agreed  to  work;  for  in  my  skiff  I  wrought  very  hard.  I 
changed  my  place,  but  did  not  improve  my  condition. 

[85]  Keel  boats  are  large  shallow  vessels,  varying  from 
thirty  to  seventy  tons  burden.  They  are  built  on  a  keel 
with  ribs,  and  covered  with  plank,  as  ships  are.  They 
are  very  flat  below,  and  draw  only  about  two  feet  of  water. 
The  gunwales  are  about  a  foot  above  water.  Something 
like  a  large  box  is  raised  over  the  boat,  which  serves  for  a 
cover,  leaving  a  narrow  footpath  on  the  outside  all  around. 
Four  or  six  men  row  near  the  prow,  and  a  steersman  be- 
hind plies  a  long  oar,  which  serves  for  a  rudder. 

November  8.  (Sunday.)  The  provisions  of  this  and 
another  boat  in  company  were  nearly  exhausted,  and  a 
supply  was  expected  at  Marietta.  Sailing  appeared  to 
be  a  work  of  necessity;  but,  independent  of  the  exigency, 
the  boats  would  probably  have  moved  on.  Sailing  on  the 
Sabbath  is  as  common  here  as  at  sea.  A  boatman  com- 
menced a  song,  and  was  interrupted  by  a  Scots  rustic. 
The  American  alleged  that  he  was  in  a  "land  of  liberty" 
and  that  no  one  had  a  right  to  interfere.  The  other 
affirmed  that  it  was  against  law,  and  threatened  to  pre- 
vent the  violation  in  the  most  summary  way.  The  boat- 
man, perceiving  that  he  was  to  be  assailed  by  a  stronger 
man  than  himself,  gave  up  the  contest.  Every  one  present 
seemed  well  pleased  with  this  termination  of  the  affair. 

November  9.  Marietta  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  fine 
green  bottom,  immediately  above  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Muskingum  river.  There  are  many  good  brick  and  frame 
houses  in  the  town ;    a  church,  and  an  academy,  which  are 


1 1  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

both  called  fine  buildings.  The  ferry-boat  that  crosses 
the  Muskingum  is  attached  by  wheels  to  a  strong  rope 
stretched  across  the  river,  to  which  the  boat  is  moored 
obliquely,  so  that  it  is  forced  across  by  the  [86]  action  of 
the  stream.  Marietta  is  subject  to  inundations.  I  ob- 
served high  water  mark  on  the  plaster  of  a  room  in  the 
tavern,  about  four  and  a  half  feet  above  the  floor. 

The  first  settlement  formed  by  the  United  States  in  the 
territory  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  was  effected  by  General 
Putnam,  and  forty-six  other  persons,  on  the  7th  of  April, 
1788,  on  the  ground  where  Marietta  now  stands. 

10.  This  day  we  met  a  family  boat  sailing  up  the  river. 
We  convinced  them  of  their  mistake,  which  happened  in 
the  following  way.  The  people  went  under  the  roof  to 
avoid  a  shower,  and  during  their  stay,  the  vessel  turned 
round.  They  came  out,  and  rowed  till  they  had  retro- 
graded about  two  miles. 

Our  way  of  passing  the  night  was  simple.  We  put 
ashore,  and  tied  the  boat  to  a  log  or  stake;  took  in  fire- 
wood, which  was  plentiful  all  along  the  banks;  made  a 
fire  for  cooking,  in  a  large  box  filled  with  earth,  placed  on 
the  roof,  and  slept  under  the  cover  in  our  clothes,  wrapped 
in  a  blanket.  In  the  morning  we  lost  no  time  in  dressing, 
having  only  to  loosen  our  cable,  and  get  under  weigh. 
In  times  of  high  water,  sailing  by  night  is  considered  safe 
and  agreeable,  very  little  rowing  being  necessary. 

On  the  nth  we  went  down  Letart's  rapids,  a  very 
violent  run.54  The  boat  rushed  through  with  great  ve- 
locity. There  is  a  floating  grist  and  saw  mill  here,  which 
I  visited.    The  whole  is  buoyant  on  a  large  flat  shallow 

M  Letart's  Rapids,  at  a  bend  in  the  Ohio  about  twenty-five  miles  above  Galli- 
polis,  are  but  a  slight  hindrance  to  navigation.  See  Thwaites,  On  the  Storied 
Ohio,  pp.  113-117,  for  a  recent  description. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  1 1 1 

vessel,  moored  in  the  current.  The  effective  head  of 
water  is  about  twenty  inches  high.  The  water-wheel  is 
twelve  feet  in  diameter,  and  eighteen  feet  broad.  The 
millstone  is  about  thirty-eight  inches  in  diameter,  and 
[87]  makes  a  hundred  and  twenty  revolutions  in  the 
minute. 

We  came  up  with  a  family  boat,  the  people  in  which 
had  killed  a  deer.  These  animals  often  cross  the  river 
of  their  own  accord;  and  frequently  to  elude  the  pursuit  of 
dogs. 

The  days  are  warm,  reminding  me  of  the  month  of 
August  in  Scotland ;  the  mornings  and  evenings  are  cool. 

The  ranges  of  hills  that  bound  the  view  on  both  sides  of 
the  river  are  composed  of  horizontal  strata  of  the  coal  field 
formation;  a  bed  of  this  mineral  lies  at  the  height  of  fifty 
or  sixty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water.  A  large  mass 
of  sandstone  is  above  the  coal.  This  may  be  observed  for 
many  miles  along  the  banks.  The  ragged,  and  dented 
edges  of  the  strata,  have  led  some  to  suppose  that  the 
river  never  acted  on  them;  but  the  very  contrary  must 
have  been  the  case;  for  had  the  cliffs  now  to  be  seen  been 
exposed  to  the  weather  ever  since  the  commencement  of  the 
present  order,  their  asperities,  and  sharp  edges  had  been 
rounded  off,  and  smoothed,  as  in  the  case  of  rocks  on  hill 
tops.  The  true  explanation  seems  to  be,  that  the  river 
has  undermined  the  rocks,  brought  them  down,  and 
ground  them  to  sand,  by  its  powerful  attrition.  The 
undermining  process  has  no  doubt  been  facilitated  by  the 
softer  subjacent  strata,  as  clay-schist,  and  coal.  The 
powerful  operation  of  the  grinding  process  is  strongly 
attested  by  the  grooved  surfaces,  and  the  figure  of  the 
large  blocks  in  the  bed  of  the  stream.  These  are  uniformly 
rounded  away  on  the  end  that  lies  farthest  up  the  river; 


H2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

whereas,  the  end  facing  down  the  river  is  comparatively 
flat,  and  usually  bounded  by  sharp  edges. 

[88]  November  13.  Passed  the  mouth  of  Kanha- 
way  river.  Here  stands  a  small  town  called  Point  Pleas- 
ant.   The  name  is  appropriate,  and  descriptive  of  the  site. 

From  the  springs  of  Kanhaway  river,  a  great  supply  of 
salt  is  procured  for  the  western  country. 

We  landed  at  Galliopolis  in  Ohio  State.  The  town 
stands  on  a  high  bank  above  the  reach  of  the  river.  The 
name  was  given  by  a  colony  of  a  hundred  French  families, 
which  settled  here  twenty-five  years  ago.  They  purchased 
from  a  Company,  whose  original  charter  stipulated,  that 
the  tract  should  be  inhabited  by  a  certain  number  of  set- 
tlers, within  a  specified  period  of  time.  The  condition  was 
not  fulfilled ;  the  land  reverted  to  the  government,  and  the 
colony  was  dispossessed  of  its  new  establishment. 

14.  The  wind  was  violent,  obliging  us  to  remain  on 
shore  for  three  hours.  We  moved  again,  and  stopped 
after  dark,  about  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Big  Guyandat 
river,  where  some  ripples  commence. 

15.  {Sunday.)  A  strong  contrary  wind  blew.  No 
boat  could  move  downward.  But  we  saw  several  keel 
boats  carrying  sail,  that  enabled  them  to  stem  the  ripples 
without  manual  labour.  It  is  the  wind,  and  not  the  day, 
that  is  reverenced  here. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th,  we  moved  downward.  We 
saw  a  man  fire  a  shot  at  a  flock  of  wild  turkeys.  These 
fowl  were  so  far  from  being  coy,  that  they  flew  only  a  little 
way,  and  alighted  again,  on  the  trees. 

Passed  Big  Sandy  river,  which  comes  in  on  the  left  hand 
side,  and  forms  part  of  the  boundary  line  between  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky.  In  the  evening  we  stopped  below 
Fergusson's  Bar,  having  sailed  [89]  thirty-one  miles  in  the 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  1 1  3 

course  of  the  day, — a  great  space,  considering  the  lowness 
of  the  water. 

On  the  17th,  we  arrived  at  Portsmouth,  a  well  built 
town.  It  has  a  county  court  house,  a  newspaper  office,  a 
woollen  manufactory,  a  number  of  stores,  (shops,)  and 
several  good  taverns.  Having  resolved  on  travelling  a 
little  way  inland  from  the  river,  I  immediately  put  my 
baggage  on  board  a  boat  for  Limestone,  in  Kentucky, 
addressed  to  a  commission  merchant  there.  Limestone  is 
fifty-one  miles  from  this  place,  and  four  hundred  and  forty- 
one  miles  from  Pittsburg,  by  the  river. 

It  gives  me  much  pleasure  to  be  relieved  from  the  com- 
pany of  boatmen.  I  have  seen  nothing  in  human  form  so 
profligate  as  they  are.  Accomplished  in  depravity,  their 
habits  and  education  seem  to  comprehend  every  vice. 
They  make  few  pretensions  to  moral  character;  and  their 
swearing  is  excessive,  and  perfectly  disgusting.  Although 
earning  good  wages,  they  are  in  the  most  abject  poverty; 
many  of  them  being  without  any  thing  like  clean  or  com- 
fortable clothing.  I  have  seen  several  whose  trousers 
formed  the  whole  of  their  wardrobe,  and  whose  bodies  were 
scorched  to  a  brown  colour  by  the  rays  of  the  sun.  They 
are  extremely  addicted  to  drinking.  Indeed  I  have  fre- 
quently seen  them  borrowing  of  one  another  a  few  cents 
to  quench  their  insatiable  thirst,  and  in  several  instances 
refusing  to  repay  them.  The  Scotsman  recently  alluded  to 
missed  a  knife.  On  his  accusing  them  of  the  theft,  a  de- 
graded wretch  offered  to  buy  the  fork. 

My  next  letter  will  contain  the  particulars  of  a  journey 
in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky. 


114  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

[90]  LETTER  VIII 

Leave  Portsmouth  —  Digression  on  economical  Travel- 
ling —  Salt  -  springs  —  Piketon  —  Chillicothe  —  Pro- 
gress of  a  Scotch  Family  —  Game  —  Forest  Trees  and 
Shrubs  —  Rolled  pieces  of  Primitive  Rocks  dispersed 
over  a  Country  of  the  Secondary  Formation  —  Agricul- 
tural Implements  —  Antiquities  —  Bainbridge  —  Mid- 
dletown  —  Organic  Remains  —  Town  of  Limestone  — 
Washington  —  Maye  Lick  —  Licking  River  —  Millers- 
burg —  Paris  —  Notice  of  the  Missouri  and  Illinois 
Countries  —  Paper  Currency  —  Cut  Coin  —  Remarks 
interspersed. 

Lexington,  Kentucky,  Nov.  29,  1818. 
On  the  18th  current  I  left  Portsmouth,  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  Ohio,  for  Chillicothe,  which  is  situated  on  the  Great 
Scioto  river,  forty-five  miles  from  Portsmouth  by  land,  and 
about  seventy  by  following  the  meanders  of  the  Scioto. 

The  Scotsman  twice  alluded  to  in  my  last  letter,  was  also 
bound  for  Chillicothe,  and  we  set  out  together.  He  gave 
me  the  following  account  of  his  economy  in  travelling. 
The  owner  of  the  boat  which  we  had  just  left,  engaged  him 
to  work  his  passage  from  Pittsburg  to  Portsmouth  without 
wages,  except  having  his  trunk  carried  to  the  latter  place, 
artfully  telling,  that  the  passage  would  be  completed  in 
nine  days.  It  turned  out  that  twenty-one  days  elapsed, 
before  the  boat  reached  her  destination.  Had  he,  in  the 
first  place,  hired  himself  as  a  boatman,  he  might  have  got 
seventy-five  cents  per  day,  and  might  have  had  his  trunk 
carried  for  a  dollar;  and  thus  a  profit  of  fourteen  dollars 
and  [91]  seventy-five  cents  would  have  been  made.  On 
his  journey  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg,  he  managed 
better.  He  travelled  along  with  the  waggon  that  carried 
his  trunk;  the  waggon  also  carrying  his  provisions.  In 
this  way  he  was  never  obliged  to  enter  a  tavern  except  at 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  1 1 5 

night,  when  he  slept  in  his  own  bed-clothes.  His  bed  was 
a  low  one,  but  he  had  always  the  satisfaction  of  knowing 
that  it  was  clean,  and  that  he  was  exempted  from  having  a 
bed-fellow  intruded  upon  him.  It  is  true  that  by  travelling 
alone,  he  might  have  reached  Pittsburg  about  a  week 
sooner;  but  he  would  have  arrived  there  without  clean 
clothes,  and  incurred  the  payment  of  a  week's  board, 
while  waiting  the  arrival  of  his  trunk. 

Having  made  a  digression  on  economical  travelling,  I 
am  led  to  make  some  further  remarks  on  it.  The  subject 
is  highly  interesting  to  emigrants  whose  funds  are  scanty, 
as  every  dollar  parted  with  may  be,  in  effect,  giving  up 
half  an  acre  of  uncultivated  land.  A  steerage  passenger 
pays  only  about  half  the  freight  that  is  charged  for  a  pas- 
sage in  the  cabin  of  a  ship;  and,  when  he  lays  in  his  own 
provisions,  he  has  it  in  his  power  to  be  nearly  as  comfort- 
able as  a  sea  voyage  can  permit.  In  the  American  port, 
the  cabin  passenger  is  sometimes  subjected  to  delay  in 
entering  his  baggage  at  the  custom-house,  and  getting  the 
taxable  part  valued,  whereas  the  steerage  passenger  has 
his  goods  entered  by  the  captain,  and  is  allowed  to  pro- 
ceed on  his  journey  without  loss  of  time.  Baltimore 
being  the  most  convenient  landing  place  for  Europeans 
who  intend  to  settle  in  the  western  country,  those  who 
arrive  at  New  York,  Boston,  or  other  northern  ports,  will 
have  a  saving  by  re-shipping  for  the  Chesapeake.  Stran- 
gers ought  to  be  careful  in  ascertaining  what  sloop  is  to  sail 
first.  By  putting  goods  aboard  of  a  wrong  vessel,  a  delay 
for  a  [92]  week  or  so  may  be  occasioned.  Having  sent 
my  own  baggage  round  the  Capes,  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  that  sev- 
eral skippers,  at  the  same  time,  affirmed,  that  his  own 
vessel  would  sail  first.     Liverpool  is  the  principal  resort, 


1 1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

in  Britain,  of  ships  for  Baltimore.  I  conceive  that  it  is  un- 
important to  the  emigrant,  whether  he  reaches  the  latter 
place  in  an  American  coasting  vessel,  or  by  sailing  an 
equal  distance  to  Liverpool,  along  the  coast  of  Britain. 

We  stopped  at  a  tavern,  four  miles  from  Portsmouth, 
and  had  breakfast.  The  landlord  told  us,  that  bears  and 
wolves  are  still  numerous  in  the  uncleared  hills;  that  they 
devour  many  hogs  and  sheep;  and  that  he  heard  wolves 
howling  within  a  few  yards  of  his  house,  on  the  preceding 
night.  His  sheep  had  run  off,  and  he  did  not  know  in 
which  direction  to  search  for  them. 

About  nine  miles  from  Portsmouth,  the  saline  nature 
of  a  spring  is  indicated  by  the  ground  being  much  trodden 
by  the  feet  of  cattle.  The  water  is  slightly  brackish,  and 
is  not  worth  the  expense  of  evaporation.  Salt  is  manu- 
factured, in  considerable  quantity,  a  few  miles  to  the 
eastward. 

Salt  springs  are  called  licks,  from  cattle  and  deer 
resorting  to  them  to  drink  of  the  water,  or  to  lick  the  con- 
crete salt  deposited  on  the  rocks  or  stones,  by  the  evapora- 
tion of  the  atmosphere.  Riflemen  also  resort  to  the  licks, 
in  the  night,  to  shoot  the  deer,  which  are  so  numerous  in 
this  neighbourhood,  that  they  are  sold  at  a  dollar  each. 

The  lower  and  richer  lands  are  all  entered,  (appro- 
priated by  individuals,)  but  the  higher  and  poorer,  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  which  is  too  steep  for  the  plough, 
remains  as  public  property  in  the  market.  The  time  for 
cultivating  them  is  not  yet  come.  I  must  remark  that 
the  hilly,  or  what  is  here  called  [93]  broken  land,  has  many 
fertile  spots,  and  that  the  comparative  salubrity  of  such 
parts  of  the  country  forms  a  very  strong  recommenda- 
tion to  them.  Coal  and  limestone  are  not  known  within 
eight  or  nine  miles  of  this  part  of  Scioto  river. 


1818-1820]       Flint }s  Letters  from  America  117 

We  lodged  at  Piketon,55  the  head  town  of  the  new  county 
Pike,  so  called  in  memory  of  General  Pike,  who,  to  the 
character  of  the  enterprizing  explorer  of  Mexico,  added 
that  of  the  brave  soldier.  Three  years  ago  there  were 
five  houses  here,  now  there  are  about  a  hundred. 

November  19.  We  could  not  procure  a  breakfast  at  a 
tavern  where  we  called,  because  the  family  had  a  sick 
child. 

At  the  next  tavern,  breakfast  was  prepared  for  some 
labourers  on  the  farm;  but  there  was  not  enough  of  bread 
baked,  to  admit  of  our  taking  breakfast  along  with  them. 
We  were  told  that  if  we  chose  to  wait  for  two  hours,  we 
might  eat. —  We  went  onward. 

After  travelling  several  miles,  we  arrived  at  a  third 
tavern;  here,  too,  the  bread  was  not  prepared;  but  the 
people  were  obliging,  and  made  it  ready  for  us  in  a  short 
time.  The  landlord  was  a  farmer.  He  told  us  that 
Indian  corn  sells  at  twenty-five  cents  (is.  ij^d.  English) 
per  bushel,  and  that  he  could  procure  twenty  thousand 
bushels  of  it  within  three  miles  of  his  house.  This 
appeared  to  be  somewhat  surprising,  on  considering  that 
the  cleared  grounds  form  only  small  detached  parcels, 
when  compared  with  the  intervening  woods. —  Wheat  sells 
at  seventy-five  cents  (3s.  4j^d.  English)  per  bushel.  This 
sort  of  crop  is,  at  present,  more  profitable  than  Indian 
corn,  as  in  most  cases  it  yields  more  than  a  third  part  by 
measure;  it  does  not  require  to  be  cleared  of  weeds;  and 
is  more  easily  carried  to  market.  The  predominance  of 
crops  of  [94]  Indian  corn  is  occasioned  by  the  ease  with 
which  it  is  disposed  of  in  feeding  hogs  and  other  stock, 

66  Piketown,  first  settled  about  1796  by  pioneers  from  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  and  laid  out  about  1814,  is  on  the  Scioto  River  sixty-four  miles  south 
of  Columbus,  and  about  thirty  miles  from  the  Ohio. —  Ed. 


1 1  8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

and,  perhaps,  in  some  degree,  by  prejudice.  The  bot- 
toms are  wide,  and  their  soil  rich.  They  are  often  inun- 
dated by  the  Scioto  and  its  numerous  branches,  the  water 
leaving  great  quantities  of  logs,  and  other  vegetable  matter, 
to  be  decomposed  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  These 
facts  convince  us  that  the  situation  is  not  healthy,  not- 
withstanding the  affirmations  we  heard  to  the  contrary; 
and  we  were  the  more  fully  persuaded  of  this,  as  we  saw 
a  young  man  pale  and  meagre,  in  consequence  of  an 
attack  of  the  ague. 

We  came  to  a  saw-mill  near  Paint  Creek.58  A  woman 
asked  us  how  we  proposed  to  get  across  the  run.  She 
told  us  that  there  was  neither  bridge  nor  boat;  and  that 
the  water  would  reach  up  to  our  middle.  She  told  us 
further,  that  travellers  commonly  hire  a  creature  (a  horse) 
at  her  house.  We  ordered  one,  and  her  husband  followed 
us  with  it.  At  the  Creek,  we  discovered  that  the  water 
was  shallow.  Some  of  our  party,  (now  increased  to  five,) 
indignant  at  the  hoax,  waded  the  stream.  The  water 
did  not  reach  to  the  knee. 

Chillicothe,67  (formerly  the  seat  of  government,  in  the 
State  of  Ohio,  now  transferred  to  Columbus,)  is  situated 
on  an  extensive  high  plain,  in  a  great  bend  of  the  Scioto, 
which  here  varies  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  in  breadth.  The  town  has  a  court-house,  an 
academy,  two  places  of  worship,  two  printing  offices,  that 
publish  a  weekly  newspaper  each,  a  woollen  manufactory, 
a  cotton  manufactory,  a  grist-mill  wrought  by  steam,  a 
brewery,  a  tannery,  a  variety  of  merchants'  shops,  several 
taverns,  and  three  banks.     One  of  the  last  establish- 

16  Paint  Creek,  a  stream  about  sixty  miles  long,  empties  into  the  Scioto  from 
the  west,  five  miles  below  Chillicothe. —  Ed. 

87  For  a  brief  description  of  Chillicothe,  see  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  volume 
iii  of  our  series,  note  35. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  119 

ments  has  its  door  [95]  shut.  There  is  a  good  wooden 
bridge  across  the  river,  near  the  town. 

November  20.  I  crossed  Paint  Creek,  by  the  road 
toward  Limestone.58  The  bottoms  are  rich,  but  the 
greater  part  of  them  uncleared.  The  cattle  of  this  neigh- 
bourhood are  better  than  those  I  have  seen  by  the  river 
Ohio,  and  in  the  western  parts  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  not 
here,  however,  that  the  fine  droves  formerly  noticed  are 
reared.  These  must  have  come  from  the  more  northerly 
part  of  the  State,  where  the  grass  on  the  prairies  (lands 
without  timber)  is  said  to  be  abundant.  All  accounts 
that  I  have  heard  of  these  prairies,  say,  that  they  are  wet, 
and  unfavourable  to  health.  The  ease  with  which  settle- 
ments are  formed  on  them,  and  the  facility  for  rearing 
cattle,  are,  however,  attracting  many  settlers. 

Visited  a  Scotch  family  about  thirteen  miles  from  Chil- 
licothe.  They  settled  here  twelve  years  ago.  Their  farm 
consists  of  three  hundred  acres  of  first  and  second  rate 
land ;  of  which  seventy  acres  are  cleared  and  fenced.  They 
have  met  with  two  misfortunes;  either  of  which,  they 
think,  would  have  finally  arrested  their  progress  in  Scot- 
land. They  bought  a  bad  title  to  their  land;  it  being  part 
of  an  old  military  grant,59  and  omitted  to  see  it  traced  back 
to  the  government.    In  addition  to  this,  their  house,  with 

*■  Flint  travelled  from  Chillicothe  to  Limestone  over  Zane's  Trace.  For  an 
account  of  this  road,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our  series,  note  135. —  Ed. 

M  The  Virginia  Military  District,  reserved  by  that  state  when  she  ceded  her 
possessions  north  of  the  Ohio  River  to  the  United  States  Government,  was  a 
triangular  tract,  with  the  Ohio  River  shore  between  Little  Miami  and  Scioto 
rivers  as  its  base,  and  the  apex  at  the  sources  of  the  Huron  River.  Large  por- 
tions were  given  as  bounty  lands  to  Virginia  soldiers  of  the  Revolution;  the  re- 
mainder was  ceded  to  the  Federal  Government  in  1852.  In  1871  the  govern- 
ment retroceded  this  district  to  the  state  of  Ohio,  which,  in  turn,  donated  it  to 
Ohio  State  University.  See  Hinsdale,  Old  Northwest  (New  York,  1888), 
p.  292. —  Ed. 


1 20  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

most  of  their  moveables,  was  burnt.  They  have  now  sur- 
mounted these  losses;  and  are  in  better  circumstances 
than  at  any  former  period.  It  is  astonishing  to  see  how 
much  this  family  have  adopted  the  manners  and  customs 
of  the  Americans.  The  father,  who  is  seventy-five  years 
of  age,  has  almost  entirely  laid  aside  the  peculiarities  of 
his  native  provincial  dialect.  Nothing  but  the  broad 
pronunciation  of  the  vowel  A  remains.  The  son  [96]  has 
acquired  the  dialect  of  the  country  perfectly;  and  has 
adopted  the  American  modes  of  farming;  is  a  good  axe- 
man, and  is  in  every  respect  identified  with  the  people. 
During  the  late  war,  he  was  out  on  a  campaign,  on  the 
frontier  of  Canada.  This  absence  must  have  been 
extremely  painful  to  the  father,  who  lost  an  amiable  son 
in  the  fight  with  the  Indians,  at  Tippacanoe,  in  181 1.60 

Religious  and  patriotic  views  seem  to  have  supported 
this  worthy  old  man  under  every  discouragement. 

November  21.  I  made  an  excursion  into  the  woods. 
A  few  deer  and  wild  turkeys  remain.  Squirrels  are  very 
numerous.  They  are  of  the  grey  and  black  varieties:  also 
of  the  striped  or  ground  species.  The  two  former  are 
much  larger  than  the  English  squirrel,  and  are  ate  in 
America.  Some  people  esteem  them  as  equal  to  chickens. 
Quails  are  abundant:  they  are  smaller  than  partridges, 
and  are  so  tame  that  the  report  of  a  gun,  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  part  of  the  covey,  do  not  always  make  them  take 
flight.  It  is  a  common  practice  to  drive  whole  families  of 
them  into  nets.  Rabbits  are  not  plentiful;  they  lodge  in 
the  hollows  of  fallen  trees;  and  are  not  understood  to  bur- 
row in  the  ground.  The  only  fox  that  I  have  seen,  was 
of  a  small  size,  and  of  a  light  grey  colour.    It  does  not 

00  For  a  brief  account  of  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  see  Evans's  Tour,  volume 
viii  of  our  series,  note  131. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  121 

require  a  thick  population  to  exterminate  bears,  deer,  and 
turkeys.  The  beaver  is  destroyed  by  the  first  hunters 
who  invade  the  forests;  and  the  buffalo  retreats  into  more 
remote  solitudes,  almost  on  the  first  approach  of  white 
men. 

The  woods  are  principally  composed  of  Quercus, 
(Alba,)  White  Oak;  (Tinctoria,)  Black  Oak;  (Coccinea,) 
Red  Oak;  (Primus  accuminata,)  Chesnut  Oak;  Platanus, 
(Occidentalism  Sycamore;  Fagus,  (Ferruginea,)  Beech; 
Acer,  (Saccharinum,)  {97]  Maple,  (sugar  tree;)  Fraxinus, 
(Americana,)  Ash;  Juglans,  (Nigra,)  Walnut,  (black;) 
(Alba  ovata,)  Hickory;  Laurus,  (Sassafras,)  Sassajras; 
Comus  (Florida,)  Dogwood;  Fagus,  (Castanea,)  Chesnut; 
Liriodendron,  (Tulipefera,)  Poplar;  Ulmus,  (Americana,) 
Slippery  Elm;  (Mollifolia,)  White  Elm;  Vitus,  (Labrusea,) 
Fall  Grape;  (Serotina,)  Winter  Grape. 

Amongst  the  shrubs,  or  underwood,  the  following  may 
be  noticed  as  prevalent: 

Rhus,  (Glabrum,)  Sumach;  Laurus,  (Benzoin,)  Spice- 
wood;  Rubus,  (Fructicosus,)  Blackberry;  (Hispidus,)  Run- 
ning do.;  Annona,  (Glabra,)  Papaw. 

The  prevalent  strata  are  of  slate  clay,  bituminous  shale, 
and  sandstone.  Coal  is  not  known,  and  probably  has  not 
been  sought  after.  Rolled  pieces  of  the  latter  mineral, 
and  of  granite,  gneiss,  quartz,  and  flint  slate,  are  mixed 
with  the  sandy  gravel  of  the  streams.  Dr.  Drake"  has 
pointed  out  a  situation  in  this  State,  where  large  detached 

*  Dr.  Daniel  Drake,  a  native  of  Plainfield,  New  Jersey,  whose  boyhood  was 
spent  in  Kentucky,  came  to  Cincinnati  in  1800  to  study  medicine.  Graduating 
from  the  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  181 6,  he  interested  himself  in  establish- 
ing the  Ohio  Medical  College,  at  Cincinnati,  and  became  its  first  president. 
From  that  time  until  his  death  in  1852,  he  was  connected  with  some  medical 
college,  either  in  Ohio  or  Kentucky.  In  addition  to  his  writings  on  medical 
subjects,  he  published  (1815)  the  book  several  times  mentioned  by  Flint,  Pic- 
tures 0}  Cincinnati  and  the  Miami  Country. —  Ed. 


122  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

masses  of  granite  lie  over  strata  of  secondary  limestone; 
and  has  conjectured  that  they  have  been  brought  from 
the  primitive  country  north  of  the  lakes,  by  the  agency 
of  water  passing  from  north  to  south.  This  hypothesis  is 
countenanced  by  the  vast  quantities  of  alluvial  soil  which 
lie  far  above  the  level  of  the  present  river,  and  by  the 
almost  total  absence  of  primitive  rocks,  between  the  east- 
ern side  of  the  Allegany  ridge,  and  the  sources  of  the 
Missouri.  The  only  exception  known  is  the  tract  between 
Lakes  Ontario  and  Champlain, —  a  field  so  narrow  that 
we  cannot  view  it  as  the  probable  source  of  fragments 
profusely  scattered  over  the  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana, 
Illinois  and  Kentucky. 

In  this  part  of  Ohio  State,  first  and  second  rate  lands 
sell  at  four  or  five  dollars  per  acre.  The  richest  ground  is 
in  bottoms:  the  hilly  has  many  [98]  parts  not  accessi- 
ble to  the  plough.  Buildings  are  most  commonly  erected 
on  rising  grounds.  Such  situations  are  believed  to  be 
most  salubrious,  and  abound  most  in  good  springs. 

Farming  establishments  are  small.  Most  cultivators 
do  every  thing  for  themselves,  even  to  the  fabrication  of 
their  agricultural  implements.  Few  hire  others  perma- 
nently, it  being  difficult  and  expensive  to  keep  labourers 
for  any  great  length  of  time.  They  are  not  servants,  all 
are  hired  hands:  Females  are  averse  to  dairy,  or  menial 
employments.  The  daughters  of  the  most  numerous 
families  continue  with  their  parents.  There  is  only  one 
way  of  removing  them.  This  disposition  is  said  to  pre- 
vail over  almost  the  whole  of  the  United  States.  A  man- 
ufacturer at  Philadelphia  told  me,  that  he  had  no  difficulty 
in  finding  females  to  be  employed  in  his  work-shop;  but 
a  girl  for  house-work  he  could  not  procure  for  less  than 
twice  the  manufacturing  wages.     Some  of  the  children  of 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  123 

the  more  necessitous  families  are  bound  out  to  labour  for 
other  people.  The  Scotch  family,  recently  mentioned, 
have  a  boy  and  a  girl  living  with  them  in  this  way.  The 
indenture  of  the  boy  expires  when  he  is  twenty-one  years 
of  age;  that  of  the  girl  at  eighteen.  They  are  clothed  and 
educated  at  the  expense  of  the  employer.  The  boy,  at 
the  expiry  of  his  contract,  is  to  have  a  horse  and  saddle, 
of  value  at  least  100  dollars;  and  the  girl  at  the  end  of  her 
engagement,  is  to  have  a  bedding  of  clothes.  It  is  said, 
that  a  law  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  forbids  females  to  live  in 
the  houses  of  unmarried  men. 

The  utensils  used  in  agriculture  are  not  numerous. 
The  plough  is  short,  clumsy,  and  not  calculated  to  make 
either  deep  or  neat  furrows.  The  harrow  is  triangular; 
and  is  yoked  with  one  of  its  angles  forward,  that  it  may 
be  less  apt  to  take  hold  [99]  of  the  stumps  of  trees  in  the 
way.  Light  articles  are  carried  on  horseback,  heavy 
ones  by  a  coarse  sledge,  by  a  cart,  or  by  a  waggon.  The 
smaller  implements  are  the  axe,  the  pick-axe,  and  the 
cradle-scythe;  by  far  the  most  commendable  of  back 
wood  apparatus. 

The  figure  [page  125]  is  descriptive  of  the  cradle  scythe. 
AEGB  is  the  shaft.  In  working,  it  is  held  by  the  left  hand 
with  the  thumb  upward,  near  A;  while  the  right  hand  holds 
the  cross  handle  at  H.  BD  is  a  post,  making  an  angle  of 
about  78  degrees  with  the  straight  line  AB.  Into  this 
post  the  five  wooden  ribs,  or  fingers,  MN,  OP,  QR,  ST, 
and  UV,  are  fixed.  These  are  round  pieces  of  tough 
wood,  of  a  curvature  resembling  that  of  the  back  of  the 
blade,  as  nearly  as  possible.  They  are  upwards  of  half 
an  inch  in  diameter;  and  are  pointed  at  the  extremities 
MOQSU.  FG  is  another  post,  fixed  in  the  shaft,  parallel 
to  BD,  and  about  seven  inches  distant  from  it.    ED  is  a 


i  24  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

thin  piece  of  wood,  let  into  the  shaft  at  E,  for  retaining 
the  posts  BD,  FG,  in  their  positions.  IK  is  a  small  round 
post  that  passes  through  the  fingers  at  the  distance  of  ten 
inches  from  the  post  BD.  This  small  post  passes  through 
broad  parts  of  the  fingers,  which  are  left  so  for  the  sake 
of  strength,  and  its  lower  ends  stands  on  the  blade  at  K. 
The  blade  is  such  as  is  used  in  cutting  hay;  but  the  point 
is  allowed  to  stand  about  nine  inches  farther  out  from  the 
handle  than  the  grass  scythe.  At  L  is  a  small  iron  bolt, 
rivetted  into  the  blade,  near  its  back;  the  top  of  this  bolt 
passes  through  the  lower  finger,  and  is  furnished  with  a 
hand-screw,  which  holds  the  finger  down,  so  that  its  point 
shall  remain  within  about  half  an  inch  of  the  blade.  The 
points  of  the  fingers  MOQSU  are  in  a  straight  line,  but 
recline  backward,  so  that  the  upper  finger  is  about  five 
inches  shorter  than  the  under  one.  Between  [100]  the 
posts  IK,  and  FG,  are  five  small  connecting  stays  of  iron. 
Figure  2  is  a  separate  plan  of  one  of  the  iron  stays,  shew- 
ing the  manner  in  which  it  is  fixed  to  the  upright  bars  or 
posts.  AB  is  a  part  of  the  finger;  C  the  hole  through 
which  the  small  post  (IK  of  the  former  figure)  passes; 
and  D  is  the  post  FG  of  the  former  figure.  EF  is  the  iron 
stay;  it  is  about  one-sixth  of  an  inch  in  diameter;  and  it 
is  thin  and  crooked  near  the  end  E,  where  it  is  fastened  to 
the  finger  by  two  small  nails.  From  G  to  F  the  stay  is 
a  small  screw.  At  K,  is  a  female  hand-screw  that  bears 
against  D.  At  H,  is  a  nut,  also  bearing  against  the  post  D. 
By  this  screw  the  finger  is  firmly  kept  in  its  proper  place. 
The  fingers  are  five  inches  apart,  measuring  from  the 
centre  of  the  one  to  that  of  the  other.  The  shaft  of  the 
scythe  is  five  feet  long,  and  the  whole  of  the  parts  are  as 
light  as  is  consistent  with  strength. 
[101]    November  22.     About  a  mile  distant  from  the 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America 


J25 


house  where  I  lodged,  the  woods  were  on  fire.  It  was 
supposed  that  the  conflagration  had  been  begun  by  some 
mischievous  person,  who  had  kindled  the  dry  leaves,  now 
strewed  over  the  ground.  In  the  evening,  the  glare  of 
light  extending  along  a  ridge  for  a  mile  and  a  half,  was 
astonishingly  grand.  Large  decayed  trees  were  con- 
verted into  luminous  columns  of  fire;  when  these  fell  the 


crashing  noise  was  heard  within  doors.  Fires  in  the 
woods  usually  excite  alarm  in  their  neighbourhood.  People 
watch  them  by  night,  their  rail  fences  and  wooden  habi- 
tations being  in  danger. 

Some  parts  of  this  neighbourhood  were  purchased  twelve 
or  fourteen  years  ago.  Then  proximity  to  Chillicothe  was 
little  regarded.  The  increased  population  and  trade  of 
the  town  has  now  made  it  the  market  of  almost  every  dis- 


126  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

posable  product.  The  lands  near  that  place  are  conse- 
quently much  increased  in  value,  and  town  lots  sell  at 
high  prices. 

November  23.  I  again  resumed  my  way  for  Limestone. 
By  the  road  side  are  many  conical  mounds  of  earth,  called 
Indian  graves.  About  a  mile  east  of  Bainbridge  is  a  large 
camp.62  The  ditch  is  in  every  part  visible.  One  side  is 
inclosed  by  a  bend  of  Paint  Creek,  where  the  opposite 
bank  forms  high  and  strong  ground.  I  conjectured  that 
the  fort  contained  nearly  one  hundred  acres.  It  is  not 
understood  that  the  aborigines  have  constructed  any  such 
works  since  Europeans  became  acquainted  with  them.  It 
is  therefore  a  natural  inference,  that  the  country  must 
have  been  antecedently  inhabited  by  a  more  civilized  and 
more  powerful  people. 

From  Bainbridge  to  Middletown  the  land  is  hilly;  a 
small  portion  of  it  is  cleared,  and  it  is  much  less  [102]  fer- 
tile than  the  grounds  by  the  river  Scioto,  and  Paint  Creek. 

November  24.  The  ground  west  of  Middletown  is  of 
clay,  with  a  mixture  of  siliceous  particles,  and  the  oxide 
of  iron.  Wheat  is  the  most  prevalent  crop.  The  health 
enjoyed  on  these  high  lands,  is  an  ample  compensation 
for  the  lack  of  a  few  bushels.  Wheat  sells  at  a  dollar  per 
bushel;  Indian  corn  at  thirty-three  one-third  cents;  beef 
and  pork  at  four  cents  a-pound;  labourer's  wages,  fifty 
cents;  joiners,  a  dollar,  with  provisions. 

2$th.  At  ten  miles  from  Limestone,  the  soil  is  good, 
but  broken  with  irregularities  of  surface.  There  was  a 
little  frost  in  the  morning,  but  the  forenoon  was  warm. 
I  observed  several  insects  of  the  genus  Vanessa,  (painted 

w  The  remains  of  the  mound-building  Indians  on  Paint  Creek,  near  Bain- 
bridge, are  among  "the  largest  works  in  the  Scioto  valley."  See  Fowke, 
Archaological  History  of  Ohio  (Columbus,  1902),  p.  206;  see  also  Cuming's 
Tour,  volume  iv  of  our  series,  note  76. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  i  27 

butterflies,)  flying  about  in  full  vigour.  The  autumn  is 
said  to  be  fine,  almost  beyond  former  example. 

Near  the  river  Ohio  the  soil  is  light,  but  much  broken 
on  the  surface  by  funnel-shaped  hollows,  not  unlike  those 
where  the  sides  of  coal-pits  have  fallen  in.  These  inverted 
cones  are  evidently  excavated  by  the  infiltration  of  water, 
and  indicate  that  the  strata  abounds  with  large  fissures 
or  caverns. 

In  travelling  over  the  last  forty  miles,  limestone  is  the 
only  stratified  mineral  that  I  have  seen.  It  lies  in  a  posi- 
tion nearly  horizontal,  and  is  literally  conglomerated  with 
organic  remains.  Amongst  these,  the  most  remarkable 
is  a  species  of  terebratula,  which  is  very  abundant,  and 
varies  from  the  size  of  a  walnut  to  that  of  a  pin's  head.  In 
addition  to  the  concentric  striated  character,  so  frequent 
amongst  bivalve  shells,  it  has  large  radiated  grooves;  the 
grooves  on  one  valve  opposite  to  ridges  on  the  other.  The 
superior  margin  is,  of  course,  a  zig-zag  line,  resembling 
the  base  of  [103]  polyhedral  crystals,  where  the  sides  of 
one  pyramid  are  set  on  the  angles  of  another. 

For  some  days  past  I  have  found  the  expense  of  travel- 
ling to  be  uniformly  three  shillings  and  elevenpence  far- 
thing per  day. 

Limestone,  sometimes  called  Maysville,88  is  a  consider- 
able landing  place  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river  Ohio. 
The  houses  stand  above  the  level  of  the  highest  floods. 
There  is  a  rope-walk,  a  glass-house,  several  stores  and 
taverns,  and  a  bank,  in  the  town. 

On  the  26th,  I  left  Limestone  by  the  road  for  Lexing- 
ton,  which  is  sixty-four  miles  distant.     The  roads,  hitherto 

83  For  notes  on  the  following  places,  see  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  volume  iii  of 
our  series:  Limestone,  note  23;  Paris,  note  29.  F.  A.  Michaux's  Travels,  volume 
iii  of  our  series:  Washington,  note  37;  May's  Lick,  note  38;  Millersburg,  note 
38.     Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our  series:     Blue  Licks,  note  117. —  Ed. 


128  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

scorched  by  drought,  were  in  a  few  minutes  rendered  wet 
and  muddy  by  a  heavy  shower  of  rain.  The  roads  in 
this  western  country  are  of  the  natural  soil. 

The  high  grounds  every  where  seen  from  the  river,  are 
called  the  river  hills;  they  are  in  reality  banks,  the  ground 
inland  of  them  being  high.  To  the  south  of  Limestone 
it  is  a  rich  table  land,  diversified  by  gentle  slopes  and 
moderate  eminences. 

At  four  miles  from  Limestone  is  Washington,  the  seat 
of  justice  in  Mason  County.  The  town  is  laid  out  on  a 
large  plan,  but  is  not  thriving. 

May's  Lick  is  a  small  village,  twelve  miles  from  Lime- 
stone. A  rich  soil,  and  a  fine  undulated  surface,  unite 
in  forming  a  neighbourhood  truly  delightful.  The  most 
florid  descriptions  of  Kentucky  have  never  conveyed  to 
my  mind  an  idea  of  a  country  naturally  finer  than  this. 

I  lodged  at  a  tavern  twenty  miles  from  Limestone. 
Before  reaching  that  place  the  night  became  dark  and 
the  rain  heavy.  As  the  tops  of  the  trees  overhung  the 
road,  I  had  no  other  indication  than  the  miry  feel  of  the 
track,  to  prevent  me  from  wandering  into  the  woods. 

[104]  November  27.  Crossed  the  river  Licking  in  a 
boat,  at  a  small  town  called  Blue  Licks,  from  the  springs 
in  its  neighbourhood,  from  which  great  quantities  of  salt 
were  formerly  procured.  The  adjoining  timber  is  ex- 
hausted, and  the  salt-works  are  abandoned. 

After  coming  to  a  flooded  creek,  where  there  was  neither 
bridge  nor  boat,  I  waited  a  few  minutes  for  the  mail 
coach.  The  road  is  in  several  parts  no  other  than  the 
rocky  bed  of  the  stream.  It  also  crosses  the  same  creek 
four  or  five  times.  After  riding  a  few  miles,  I  left  the 
coach.  There  is  no  great  degree  of  comfort  in  travelling 
by  this  vehicle;  stowed  full  of  people,  baggage,  and  letter 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  129 

bags;  the  jolting  over  stones,  and  through  miry  holes,  is 
excessively  disagreeable:  and  the  traveller's  head  is  some- 
times knocked  against  the  roof  with  much  violence.  A 
large  piece  of  leather  is  let  down  over  each  side,  to  keep 
out  the  mud  thrown  up  by  the  wheels.  The  front  was 
the  only  opening,  but  as  the  driver  and  two  other  persons 
occupied  it,  those  behind  them  were  almost  in  total  dark- 
ness.   A  peep  at  the  country  was  not  to  be  obtained. 

Millersburg  is  a  very  small  town,  with  several  large 
grist-mills  and  a  bank. 

To-day  I  have  seen  a  number  of  young  women  on 
horseback,  with  packages  of  wool,  going  to,  or  returning 
from,  the  carding  machine.  At  some  of  the  houses  the 
loom  stands  under  a  small  porch  by  the  door.  Although 
Miss  does  not  wear  the  produce  of  her  own  hands,  it  is 
pleasant  to  see  such  abundant  evidence  of  family  manu- 
facture. 

I  lodged  at  Paris,  the  head  town  of  Bourbon  county. 
A  cotton-mill,  and  some  grist-mills,  are  the  manufactories 
of  the  place.  The  population  is  considerable.  Several 
of  the  taverns  are  large,  and,  like  many  of  the  others  in 
the  western  country,  [105]  have  bells  on  the  house-tops, 
which  are  rung  at  meals. 

A  traveller  has  just  returned  from  attending  the  sales 
of  public  lands  in  the  Missouri  country. —  They  are 
exposed  by  auction,  in  quarter  sections  of  160  acres  each. 
A  considerable  part  of  them  sold  at  from  three  to  six 
dollars  per  acre.  Lots,  not  sold  at  auction,  may  be  sub- 
sequently bought  at  the  land-office  for  two  dollars  per 
acre,  on  paying  half  a  dollar  in  ready  money,  and  the 
remainder  within  five  years.  Land  dealers  are  very 
vigilant  in  securing  for  themselves  great  quantities  of  the 
best  land.    It  is  not  uncommon  for  reconnoitring  parties 


130  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

of  them  to  lodge  in  the  woods  for  a  whole  week.  By 
such  means  much  of  the  best  land,  mill-seats,  and  other 
local  advantages,  are  withdrawn  from  the  market  at  the 
first  public  sales.  This  gentleman  describes  the  Missouri 
country  as  one  possessing  a  fine  climate,  and  containing 
many  extensive  prairies  of  a  rich  soil,  but  destitute  of 
timber  and  stone.  The  most  advantageous  purchases 
are  considered  to  be  those  on  the  edges  of  prairies,  with  a 
part  of  the  open  land,  and  a  part  of  the  woods.  Many 
of  the  settlers  that  I  have  seen  by  the  river,  and  else- 
where, were  on  their  way  for  the  Missouri  territory.  The 
Illinois  country,  according  to  the  account  given  by  this 
traveller,  is  a  very  unhealthy  one.  He  travelled  twenty 
days  in  that  State,  and  on  his  return  home,  found  that 
many  of  the  people  were  afflicted  with  bilious  fevers  and 
agues.  He  affirmed  that  he  had  seen  more  sick  people 
during  these  twenty  days  than  during  the  whole  of  his 
preceding  life  in  Kentucky.  Other  reports  corroborate 
his  statement,  so  that  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
autumn  has  been  a  sickly  one  in  that  low  country. 

[106]  The  best  taverns  in  town  charge  higher  than 
those  in  the  country,  where  accommodation  is  inferior. 
At  Paris  I  paid  62*^  cents  (2s.  9^d.  English)  for  supper 
and  lodgings. 

In  this  western  country  there  is  a  great  diversity  of 
paper  money.64  Small  bills  are  in  circulation  of  a  half, 
a  fourth,  an  eighth,  and  even  a  sixteenth  part  of  a  dollar. 
These  small  rags  are  not  current  at  a  great  distance  from 

•*  The  supply  of  specie  in  the  Western  country  had  always  been  inadequate. 
Until  the  numerous  state  banks  began  to  flood  the  country  with  paper  money, 
about  the  second  decade  of  the  century,  barter  was  regularly  employed.  Flint 
was  in  the  West  when  the  financial  stringency  that  followed  the  War  of  1812-15 
was  beginning  to  be  felt  in  that  region,  and  the  reaction  against  the  worth- 
less state  banks  had  set  in.  See  post;  also  McMaster,  History  of  the  United 
States,  iv,  pp.  484-487.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  131 

the  places  of  their  nativity.  A  considerable  proportion 
of  the  little  specie  to  be  seen  is  of  what  is  called  cut  money. 
—  Dollars  cut  into  two,  four,  eight,  or  sixteen  pieces. 
This  practice  prevents  such  money  from  being  received 
in  banks,  or  sent  out  of  the  country  in  the  character  of 
coin,  and  would  be  highly  commendable  were  it  not  for 
the  frauds  committed  by  those  who  clip  the  pieces  in 
reserving  a  part  of  the  metal  for  themselves. 

November  28.  To-day  I  have  crossed  several  flooded 
creeks:  one  by  a  tree  which  has  accidentally  fallen  across 
it,  and  one  has  a  tree  that  has  been  felled  intentionally  for 
a  bridge;  one  I  crossed  on  an  accumulated  heap  of  drift- 
wood; and  once  by  a  horse,  where  a  farmer  allows  a 
Negro  boy  to  derive  a  perquisite  from  carrying  over 
travellers. —  Goods  are  now  carried  from  Limestone  to 
Lexington  for  a  dollar  per  hundred  pounds  weight. — 
This  is  somewhat  lower  than  the  usual  rate.  Waggoners 
are  occasionally  interrupted  by  flooded  streams. 

Between  the  river  Ohio  and  Lexington,  limestone  is 
the  only  rock  which  I  have  observed.  Like  that  noticed 
in  Ohio  State,  it  is  crowded  with  organic  remains.  The 
variety  of  the  surface,  in  this  part  of  the  country,  is 
pleasant.  The  eminences  are  gentle  swells  rather  than 
hills,  and  the  intervals  between  them  are  smooth,  rich, 
and  dry  [107]  ground.  Marshy  land  is  scarcely  to  be 
seen. —  These  are  convincing  marks  of  the  excellence  of 
the  subsoil. 


132  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 


LETTER  IX 

Lexington  —  Depreciated  Paper  Currency,  and  Fraudu- 
lent Bankers  —  Excess  of  Paper  Money  destructive  to 
American  Manufactures  —  Aversion  to  Menial  Service 

—  Atheneum  —  Dirking,  Gouging,  Kicking,  and  Biting 

—  Prices  of  Live-stock  —  Provisions,  &c. —  Slavery  — 
Effects  of  Slave-keeping  on  the  White  Population  — 
Illiberal  Reflections  of  British  Tories  against  the  Amer- 
icans and  against  Free  Government  —  Leave  Lexing- 
ton —  Descend  the  Ohio  to  Cincinnati  —  Occurrences 
and  Reflections  intermixed. 

Cincinnati,  Ohio,  30/&  Dec.  181 8. 

Lexington,  the  county  town  of  Fayette,  was  the  capi- 
tal of  the  state  of  Kentucky,  before  the  government  was 
transferred  to  Frankfort.65  It  is  situated  in  north  lati- 
tude, 380  8',  and  in  west  longitude  8o°  8'.  The  town  is 
surrounded  by  a  fertile  and  pleasant  neighbourhood,  and 
is  regularly  built  of  brick  and  frame  houses.  It  has  a 
university,  seven  places  of  worship,  (three  Presbyterian, 
one  Episcopalian,  one  Baptist,  one  Methodist,  and  one 
Roman  Catholic.)  Three  printing  offices,  where  three 
weekly  newspapers  are  published ;  a  branch  of  the  United 
States  Bank,  and  two  other  banking  houses;  [108]  seven 
small  cotton  factories;  two  paper-mills,  two  woollen 
factories,  five  rope-walks,  three  grist-mills,  many  mer- 
cantile houses,  and  some  good  taverns.  The  population 
is  supposed  to  be  about  seven  thousand;  but  the  increase 
has  been  slow  for  several  years  past. 

There  is  here  much  trouble  with  paper  money.  The 
notes  current  in  one  part,  are  either  refused,  or  taken  at 
a  large  discount,  in  another.     Banks  that  were  creditable 

a  For  a  brief  account  of  the  origin  of  Lexington,  see  A.  Michaux's  Travels, 
volume  iii  of  our  series,  note  28. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint *s  Letters  from  America  133 

a  few  days  ago,  have  refused  to  redeem  their  paper  in 
specie,  or  in  notes  of  the  United  States'  Bank.  In  Ken- 
tucky, there  are  two  branches  of  the  United  States'  Bank; 
thirteen  of  the  Kentucky  bank,  and  a  list  of  fifty  inde- 
pendent banks,  some  of  which  are  not  in  operation.  In 
the  state  of  Ohio,  there  are  thirty  chartered  banks,  and  a 
few  others  which  have  not  obtained  that  pernicious  dis- 
tinction. In  Tennessee,  the  number  of  banks,  including 
branches,  is  fourteen.  The  total  number  of  these  estab- 
lishments in  the  United  States,  could  not,  perhaps,  be 
accurately  stated  on  any  given  day.  The  enumeration, 
like  the  census  of  population,  might  be  affected  by  births 
and  deaths.  The  creation  of  this  vast  host  of  fabricators, 
and  venders  of  base  money,  must  form  a  memorable 
epoch  in  the  history  of  the  country. —  These  craftsmen 
have  greatly  increased  the  money  capital  of  the  nation; 
and  have,  in  a  corresponding  degree,  enhanced  the  nom- 
inal value  of  property  and  labour.  By  lending,  and 
otherwise  emitting,  their  engravings,  they  have  contrived 
to  mortgage  and  buy  much  of  the  property  of  their  neigh- 
bours, and  to  appropriate  to  themselves  the  labour  of  less 
moneyed  citizens.  Proceeding  in  this  manner,  they  can- 
not retain  specie  enough  to  redeem  their  bills,  admitting 
the  gratuitous  assumption  that  they  were  once  possessed 
of  it.  They  [109]  seem  to  have  calculated  that  the  whole 
of  their  paper  would  not  return  on  them  in  one  day. 
Small  quantities,  however,  of  it  have,  on  various  occa- 
sions, been  sufficient  to  cause  them  to  suspend  specie 
payments. 

So  long  as  a  credulous  public  entertained  full  confidence 
in  the  banks,  bankers  gave  in  exchange  for  their  paper, 
that  of  other  banks,  equally  good  with  their  own.  The 
same  kind  of  exchanges  are  still  offered  now,  when  the 


134  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

people  are  very  suspicious  of  the  circumstances  and  inten- 
tions of  money  manufacturers;  and  bankers  console  their 
creditors  by  professing  to  be  as  solvent  as  their  neighbour- 
ing institutions.  The  holder  of  the  paper  may  comply  in 
the  barter,  or  keep  the  notes,  such  as  they  are;  but  he 
finds  it  too  late  to  be  delivered  from  the  snare.  The  peo- 
ple committed  the  lapsus,  when  they  accepted  of  the 
gew-gaws  clean  from  the  press.  It  is  altogether  sur- 
prising that  the  people  of  this  country  have  shut  their 
eyes  against  the  strongest  light  of  experience.  If  they  had 
kept  sufficiently  in  recollection  the  vast  issues,  and  the 
ultimate  depreciation  of  continental  money  during  their 
revolutionary  war,  they  might  have  effectually  resisted 
the  late  influx  of  paper.  But  the  farmer,  the  mechanic, 
and  the  labourer,  have  been,  for  a  short  time,  pleased  with 
what  was,  in  name,  a  greater  price,  or  a  greater  hire.  As 
every  necessary  of  life  has  been  proportionally  raised  in 
nominal  value,  they  do  not  find  that  their  comforts  or 
savings  are  substantially  enlarged.  They  are  in  reality 
diminished  to  the  amount  of  the  gains  that  have  arisen 
to  the  paper  mint,  and  of  the  brokers  who  deal  in  depre- 
ciated money.  The  immutable  maxim,  that  productive 
labour  is  the  true  source  of  wealth,  has  been  lost  sight  of. 
Designing  men  [no]  have  availed  themselves  of  that 
apathy,  and  the  deluded  multitude  have  been  basely 
duped. 

The  baneful  consequence  of  the  paper  system  are  not 
confined  to  internal  derangements  here,  but  are  extended 
to  every  department  of  foreign  intercourse.  The  mer- 
chants and  manufacturers  of  other  countries  are  enabled 
to  sell  their  goods,  and  the  produce  of  their  labour,  nomi- 
nally cheaper  than  the  Americans.  Imports  are  increased, 
and  a  large  balance  of  trade  arises.    This  must  be  paid  in 


1818-1820]       Flint*  s  Letters  from  America  135 

specie.  Foreign  capitalists,  who  engage  their  funds  in 
American  speculations,  must  also  have  the  dividends,  or 
profits  on  their  stock,  paid  in  the  precious  metals.  The 
grain  raised  by  the  American  farmer  is  sent  abroad,  but 
the  price  is  greatly  reduced  by  expense  and  risk  incurred 
by  a  voyage,  also  by  the  profits  of  merchants  on  both 
sides  of  the  Atlantic.  The  cotton  and  the  wool  are  sent 
to  Europe  under  similar  disadvantages,  and  a  repetition 
of  them  in  reconveying  the  manufactured  goods  to  Amer- 
ica. A  few  facts  will  set  this  impolicy  in  a  strong  light. 
Cotton,  which  now  sells  in  the  United  States  for  a  few 
cents  per  pound,  is,  in  certain  cases,  sent  to  England,  and 
returned  to  the  wearer  at  nearly  as  many  dollars.  A  gen- 
tleman from  Mount  Sterling,  about  thirty  miles  east  of 
this  place,  told  me  that  a  good  coat  of  English  manufac- 
ture, costs  there  thirty-six  dollars.  Indian  corn  sells  at 
twenty-five  cents  per  bushel.  The  farmer,  then,  who 
wears  such  a  coat,  must  pay  a  hundred  and  forty-four 
bushels  for  it, —  a  quantity  sufficient  to  be  bread  for 
twelve  men  for  a  whole  year.  One  pound  of  good  tea 
costs  twelve  bushels, —  bread  for  one  man  for  a  year.  A 
chemical  manufacturer,  at  Pittsburg,  buys  saltpetre 
imported  from  India,  cheaper  than  he  can  procure  the 
spontaneous  product  from  the  [in]  caverns  of  Kentucky. 
Although  most  of  the  metallic  and  earthy  substances, 
useful  in  manufacture,  are  abundant  in  America,  she 
imports  jewellery,  cutlery,  glass,  crystal,  earthen  and 
porcelain  wares.  By  this  means  the  republic  discourages 
her  own  artizans,  and  pays  the  taxes  of  foreign  mon- 
archies. Under  the  present  money  system  it  is  in  vain 
that  nature  has  diffused  her  mineral  resources  over  the 
New  World.  In  vain  will  the  government  impose  the 
highest  restrictive  duties  on  imported  goods,  while  every 


136  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

crop  of  flax  augments  the  imaginary  money  capital  to  a 
greater  extent,  and  while  there  is  the  smallest  residuum 
of  specie  left  in  the  country.  It  would  be  an  interesting 
inquiry  to  find  the  number  and  the  names  of  legislators 
in  the  different  states  assemblies,  who  are  interested  in 
banking  concerns.  The  people  would  then  see  how  the 
power  that  grants  chartered  privileges  to  banks  is  con- 
stituted. 

Although  the  convulsion  which  agitates  bankers  in  the 
western  country,  is  but  of  recent  date,  their  money  is  in 
various  instances  thirty  per  cent,  under  par  in  the  east- 
ern states.  Tavern  keepers,  grocers,  and  others,  receive 
the  money  of  the  banks  nearest  to  them,  although  they 
know  that  these  banks  will  not  pay  specie  for  them.  They 
see  that,  without  the  rags  now  in  circulation,  they  could 
have  very  little  money.  Every  one  is  afraid  of  bursting 
the  bubble.  How  the  country  is  to  be  delivered  from 
this  dilemma,  bankers  have  not  yet  shewn.  They  are 
still  strongly  inclined  to  continue  the  traffic ;  but  they  can- 
not be  expected  to  support  organized  establishments  of 
directors,  presidents,  cashiers,  clerks,  offices,  and  empty 
coffers,  without  committing  farther  spoliations  on  the 
people.  When  the  sick  system  dies,  the  public  will  see 
the  full  amount  of  the  penance  they  have  to  suffer  [112]  for 
their  credulity.  A  smaller,  but  a  more  substantial  capital, 
will  be  resorted  to,  one  better  calculated  to  "  place  the 
manufacturer  beside  the  farmer." 

December  5.  To-day  a  shower  of  rain  fell,  and  was 
followed  by  snow.  The  part  that  lies  unmelted  is  about 
an  inch  thick. 

Among  the  succession  of  people  at  the  tavern,  many 
are  polite  and  obliging  in  their  behaviour.  Some  are 
interesting  in  their  conversation,  and  some  talk  of  horses 


1818-1820]       Flint \f  Letters  from  America  137 

and  horse-racing.  The  latter  kind  of  discourse  is  mixed 
with  swearing. 

Lexington  is  still  considered  the  capital  of  fashion  in 
Kentucky.  There  are  here  many  genteel  families,  a  few 
of  which  keep  coaches.  The  town,  on  a  whole,  exhibits 
a  well-dressed  population.  The  menials  are  nearly  all 
slaves.  Free  blacks  detest  every  thing  that  they  think 
resembling  their  former  condition.  White  people  are 
still  more  averse  to  live  as  hired  people  in  families.  Fe- 
males, however  idle,  and  however  great  their  difficulties 
may  be,  remain  with  their  parents,  till  removed  by  that 
great  change  that  all  hope  for.  In  many  cases,  it  is  said 
that  their  repugnance  to  support  themselves,  by  the  earn- 
ings of  hired  labour,  induces  them  here,  as  in  other  places, 
to  lead  a  life  of  profligacy  and  ruin. 

December  9.  For  several  days  past  the  temperature  has 
remained  steadily  a  few  degrees  below  the  freezing  point. 
This  morning  the  snow  disappeared,  and  through  the  day, 
the  heat  seemed  to  be  much  greater  than  ever  I  felt  at 
this  season  of  the  year. 

12.  The  Atheneum,  or  reading-room,  is  much  fre- 
quented. It  is  well  furnished  with  newspapers,  and  with 
the  most  distinguished  periodical  publications;  scientific 
journals,  army  and  navy  lists  of  [113]  Britain;  Rees' 
Cyclopaedia,  and  some  other  books.  Attached  to  the 
institution  is  a  small  collection  of  objects  in  Natural  His- 
tory; and  some  articles  of  the  dress,  arms,  and  tools  of 
the  Indian  people.  I  cannot  omit  mentioning  some  par- 
ticulars: —  A  bowl  of  unglazed  earthen  ware  found  along 
with  a  mummy  in  a  cave  in  Tennessee.  In  shape  it 
resembles  a  modern  cast  iron  pot;  and  is  a  specimen  of 
manufacture  superior  to  that  executed  in  some  of  the 
coarser  works  of  the  kind  amongst  civilized  people:  an 


138  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

Indian  register  from  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  which  is 
cut  on  a  small  piece  of  white  marble.  The  subject  of  it 
is  a  record  of  their  wars.  Those  of  long  duration,  or  of 
great  extent,  are  represented  by  larger  holes  bored  in  the 
stone.  Seven  great,  and  fourteen  inferior  wars,  are 
indicated.  When  the  nation  migrates,  or  when  the  tablet 
is  filled  with  spots,  they  enter  the  register  on  a  black  stone, 
and  part  with  the  white  one.  The  tribe  has  now  five 
black  stones  in  keeping.  The  solidity  and  wax  colour  of 
the  specimen  rank  it  equal  with  the  famous  Parian  marble. 

To-day  I  saw  a  young  man  buy  a  dirk.  The  number 
of  these  weapons  exhibited  in  the  jewellers'  shops  show 
that  a  great  sale  of  them  must  be  expected.  The  dirk 
has  a  pointed  blade,  four  or  five  inches  long,  with  a  small 
handle.  It  is  worn  within  the  vest,  by  which  it  is  com- 
pletely concealed.  The  advocates  for  private  arms  openly 
declare  that  they  are  for  defence,  but  the  dissipated,  the 
passionate,  and  the  freebooter,  urge  a  similar  pretext  for 
carrying  the  stilleto.  Quarrels  must  be  conducted  in  a 
dangerous  form;  and  murder  must  be  made  a  prelude  to 
robbery,  amongst  a  people  who  use  concealed  arms.  Spain 
exemplifies  this  truth  —  and  it  is  from  her  colonists  prob- 
ably that  the  southern  and  western  Americans  have 
learned  this  practice. 

[114]  Fights  are  characterized  by  the  most  savage 
ferocity.  Gouging,  or  putting  out  the  antagonist's  eyes, 
by  thrusting  the  thumbs  into  the  sockets,  is  a  part  of  the 
modus  operandi.  An  extension  of  the  optic  nerve  occa- 
sions great  pain  to  the  sufferer.  Kicking  and  biting  are 
also  ordinary  means  used  in  combat;  I  have  seen  several 
fingers  that  had  been  deformed,  also  several  noses  and 
ears,  which  have  been  mutilated,  by  this  canine  mode  of 
fighting. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America 


!39 


December  13.  To-day  a  crowd  of  people  were  out  wit- 
nessing the  immersion  of  seven  Baptists  in  a  pool  near 
the  town.  Many  of  them  have  a  genteel  and  gay  appear- 
ance; a  slight  shade  of  the  ruddy  complexion  makes  me 
suppose  that  the  climate  of  this  place  is  the  best  that  I 
have  known  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic. 

Dec.  15.  Last  night  a  man  took  the  Sheriff  of  Fayette 
county  aside,  on  pretence  of  business,  and  immediately 
commenced  an  attack  on  him.  The  officer  of  the  law 
drew  a  dirk,  and  wounded  the  assailant. 

I  note  down  the  prices  of  live  stock,  labour,  some  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  &c. 


Price  of  a  young  male  negro,  arrived  at  puberty, 
Hire  of  ditto  per  annum,  with  provisions  and 

clothes,  .... 
Price  of  a  young  female  ditto,  . 
Hire  of  ditto,  per  annum,  with  provisions  and 

clothes,       .  ■      . 
Price  of  a  work-horse,  from 
Price  of  a  fine  saddle  horse, 
Hire  of  a  four  horse  team  and  driver,  without  pro 

visions,       .... 
Hire  of  a  saddle  horse  per  day, 
Mechanics  per  day,  with  board, 
Labourers  per  day,  with  board, 
Wheat  per  bushel, 
Rye,        .       . 


Corn,  (Maize) 

[115]  Oats,     . 

Potatoes, 

Flour  per  100  lbs. 

Beef,  per  pound,  from 

Pork,         ditto,  from 

Mutton,     ditto,  from 

Turkeys,  from         .  50  cents 


Dollars 
800 

100  to  150 
600 

120 
100  to  120 
200  to  300 


Cents 


I  to 

ito 
1  to 


75 

75 

5o 

37* 

33* 

33* 

5  to  6 
4  to  5 
3  to  4 


to  1 


140  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

Dollars  Cents 

Hens  and  Ducks, 12  J 

Eggs  per  dozen, 12  J 

Butter  per  lb. 25 

Cheese,  ditto, 18 

Whisky  per  gallon, 40 

Tobacco,  per  100  lbs 5  

Hemp, 8  

Wool,  per  lb  ........  33J 

The  indolence  and  disorderly  conduct  of  slaves,  to- 
gether with  their  frequent  elopements,  occasion  much 
uneasiness  to  their  holders.  It  is  not  uncommon  to 
hear  the  master,  in  ill  humour,  say  that  he  wishes  there 
was  not  a  slave  in  the  country;  but  the  man  who  is  tena- 
cious of  this  sort  of  stock,  or  who  purchases  it  at  a  high 
price,  will  always  find  it  difficult  to  convince  other  peo- 
ple, that  his  pretensions  to  humanity  towards  slaves  are  in 
earnest.  Some  say  that  the  fault  is  with  the  British,  who 
first  introduced  them.  Others  reprobate  the  practice; 
but  affirm  that,  while  the  laws  of  the  country  permit  it, 
and  while  slaves  must  be  somewhere,  we  may  have  them 
as  well  as  our  neighbours;  and  there  are  a  few  who  vindi- 
cate both  principle  and  practice,  by  declaring,  that  the 
negro  is  a  being  of  an  inferior  species  formed  for  servitude : 
and  allege  that  slave-keeping  has  the  divine  sanction,  as 
in  the  case  of  the  Jews. 

Negroes,  even  in  America,  are  said  to  be  more  prolific 
than  the  white  variety  of  the  species.  They  do  not  delay 
marriage  because  they  are  not  in  possession  of  lands, 
slaves,  horses,  and  the  other  essentials  of  their  masters:  nor 
does  the  support  of  [116]  their  progeny  give  them  much 
concern;  the  coloured  children  being  held  as  the  property 
of  the  owner  of  the  mother.  By  him  they  are  reared  with 
more  or  less  tenderness,  or  sold  to  another,  as  he  thinks  fit. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  141 

The  treatment  of  slaves  is  understood  to  be  much  milder 
in  Kentucky  than  in  the  south-easterly  part  of  the  Union, 
where  provisions  are  dearer,  and  blacks  sell  at  a  lower 
price.  At  Lexington  slaves  are  well  fed,  and  have  a 
healthy  appearance,  and  the  greater  part  of  them  are  well 
clothed.  Some  of  the  abettors  of  the  system  assert,  that 
negroes  are  happier  here  than  the  free  poor  of  other  coun- 
tries; but  there  are  several  circumstances  which  may  be 
opposed  to  this  position.  The  happy  Kentuckian  slave 
lives  under  the  danger  of  being  cow-hided,  (a  term  sig- 
nifying a  whipping,  with  a  stripe  of  half  tanned  leather, 
which  is  twisted  into  the  form  of  a  tapered  switch  of  a  very 
rigid  texture,)  for  the  slightest  real  or  imaginary  offence. 
His  evidence  is  not  received  in  court  when  he  is  opposed 
to  a  white  man.  Thus  he  has  not  the  protection  of  the 
law,  and  less  hope  of  bettering  his  condition.  The  prac- 
tice disregards  the  strongest  ties  of  kindred  and  of  nature. 
The  husband  is  torn  from  the  wife,  and  the  child  from 
the  parent,  to  be  sold  into  an  unhealthy  region,  where  a 
more  galling  yoke  is  imposed.  He  must  not  eat  nor  even 
converse  in  the  room  where  white  men  are.  Every 
degrading  mark  is  set  upon  him.  While  white  men  ran- 
sack the  Christian  volume,  that  they  may  find  fit  names 
to  their  children,  heathenish  appellations,  such  as  Pompey, 
Nero,  &c.  usually  given  to  dogs,  are  bestowed  on  the 
coloured  infant.  The  ordinary  names  of  dogs  and  horses, 
the  days  of  the  week,  and  the  months  of  the  year,  seem 
now  exhausted  in  the  negro  nomenclature. 

[117]  It  does  not  require  a  high  degree  of  philanthropic 
feeling  to  regret  the  numerous  obstacles  which  oppose 
their  amelioration.  The  governments  of  new  territories 
are  allowing  vast  tracts  of  country  to  become  markets; 
and  the  older  slave-keeping  states  are  converted   into 


142  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

nurseries,  from  which  multitudes  of  slaves  are  procured. 
If  this  course  of  policy  is  persisted  in,  the  humane  exer- 
tions of  individuals,  and  the  benevolent  associations  in 
Britain,  and  elsewhere,  cannot  counteract  the  growing 
abuse.  Emancipation  can  scarcely  be  contemplated, 
where  its  objects  are  multiplied  with  such  rapidity.  Amal- 
gamation with  the  whites,  extermination,  or  ultimate  pre- 
ponderance, present  themselves  to  the  penetrating  mind. 
The  baneful  effects  of  slave-keeping  are  not  confined  to 
negroes,  but  are  widely  diffused  amongst  white  people. 
The  necessity  of  personal  labour  being  removed  from  the 
master,  he  either  indulges  in  idleness,  or  spends  his  time 
in  amusements  that  are  incompatible  with  industrious 
habits.  His  progeny,  seeing  that  every  sort  of  useful 
labour  is  performed  by  the  slaves,  whom  they  are  taught 
to  regard  as  an  inferior  class  of  beings,  naturally  conceive 
that  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  is  a  pursuit  too  degrading 
for  white  men.  Where  such  early  impressions  are  enter- 
tained, we  need  not  be  surprised  with  the  multitudes  of 
idlers,  hunters,  horse-racers,  gamesters  and  dissipated  per- 
sons, that  are  here  so  prevalent.  Were  it  not  for  the 
immaculate  purity  of  the  female  constitution,  the  most 
invaluable  half  of  the  human  character  would  be  rendered 
susceptible  of  receiving  a  tinge.  Fortunately  for  white 
Miss,  she  is  able  to  turn  to  her  own  advantage  the  appar- 
ently adverse  circumstances  under  which  she  is  placed. 
The  sable  domestics  with  whom  she  is  constantly  sur- 
rounded, and  [118]  who  obey  her  every  nod,  serve  as  a  foil, 
or  back  ground,  which,  by  drawing  a  contrast,  greatly 
enhances  her  charms.  The  female  slaves  performing 
every  menial  and  almost  every  household  service,  she  has 
on  this  account  much  leisure  for  the  decoration  of  her  per- 
son.    She  is  also  at  her  ease,  and  acquires  all  the  tender- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  143 

ness  of  frame  which  forms  the  delicate  lady.  Here  also, 
as  in  some  other  places,  the  society  of  the  two  sexes  is 
strictly  regulated.  Private  interviews  are  guarded  against 
with  the  most  jealous  care.  The  suitor  must  announce 
the  object  of  his  first  visit,  and  the  courtship  must  pro- 
ceed under  the  eye  of  a  parent,  or  of  some  other  confiden- 
tial person.  In  this  happy  seclusion  from  the  scandalous 
affairs  of  the  world,  it  is  only  through  the  medium  of  a 
female  negro  secretary  that  evasions  can  be  conveniently 
practised  when  sentiment  prevails  over  prudence.  Mar- 
ried ladies  also  are  relieved  from  the  drudgery  of  giving 
suck  to  their  own  children.  It  sometimes  happens  that 
the  infant  boy  entertains  a  stronger  affection  for  his  black 
nurse  than  for  his  white  mother;  and  that  his  affection  for 
the  sooty  hue  may  not  be  altogether  effaced  in  maturer 
life.  If  the  feeling  is  not  directly  conducive  to  the  happi- 
ness of  slaves,  it  has,  at  least,  a  tendency  to  abate  preju- 
dices arising  from  their  colour. 

How  far  parental  prerogative  applies  to  intercourse  be- 
tween young  people  of  different  colours,  I  am  not  prepared 
to  say;  but  the  great  numbers  of  mulattoes  to  be  seen  fur- 
nish sufficient  evidence  to  preclude  all  indiscreet  inquiry 
on  this  very  delicate  point.  One  striking  fact  is  not  to  be 
omitted.  An  instance  of  a  semi-coloured  person  whose 
origin  is  derived  from  a  white  mother,  is  exceedingly 
rare. 

[119]  You  have  frequently  heard  the  adherents  of  an 
illiberal  faction  pouring  out  a  copious  torrent  of  invective 
against  the  American  people,  and  their  democratic  form 
of  government,  on  account  of  slave-keeping.  Such  decla- 
mation must  proceed  from  ignorance  of  the  history  of  this 
country,  or  from  a  degree  of  malignity,  ill  calculated  to 
promote  the  national  character  of  Britain,  or  the  reputa- 


1 44  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

tion  of  the  system  they  adore.  It  is  for  these  people  to  be 
told  a  few  facts,  or  to  keep  them  in  recollection,  if  they 
knew  them  previously.  Thirteen  North  American  prov- 
inces were  once  British  colonies,  principally  settled  by  a 
British  people.  These  colonies,  like  others  subject  to  the 
same  parent  country,  were,  at  an  early  period,  the  resort 
of  English  slave  traders,  who  introduced  a  large  proportion 
of  African  captives  amongst  the  white  population.  The 
colonists  soon  became  sensible  of  the  moral  evil,  or  of  the 
future  consequences  to  be  derived  from  the  cupidity  of  the 
inhuman  sellers,  and  the  indolence  of  unprincipled  buyers 
amongst  themselves.  So  early  as  the  year  1703,66  the 
colony  of  Massachusetts  (only  seventy-four  years  after  its 
first  settlement,  and  probably  a  much  shorter  time  after 
the  first  introduction  of  slaves)  imposed  a  tax  to  prevent 
further  importations.  This  same  settlement  made  at- 
tempts to  prevent  the  import  altogether  in  1767  and  1774. 
Previous  to  the  year  1772,  no  less  than  twenty-three  acts 
were  passed  by  the  legislature  of  Virginia,  for  applying 
taxes  to  the  trade,  with  a  view  to  its  restriction.  In  1772, 
Virginia  petitioned  the  throne  on  the  same  subject;  but 
obtained  no  redress.  Several  other  colonies  made  remon- 
strances at  different  times;  but  were  repressed  by  the  op- 
position of  British  Governors.  In  these  days  the  grand 
discovery  that  taxation  and  representation  ought  to  [120] 
be  inseparable,  was  first  discussed  between  governors 
and  the  governed.  A  doctrine  so  appalling  to  privileged 
orders  was  not  to  be  adopted  merely  because  it  was  sanc- 
tioned by  reason.  War,  the  last  reasoning  of  Tory  minis- 
tration was  resorted  to, —  a  war  which  terminated  in  the 
best  soldiers  of  the  old  world  throwing  down  their  arms 
before  the  husbandmen  of  the  new.    The  Americans,  no 

*  The  date  of  this  law  was  December  5,  1705. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  145 

longer  the  vassals  of  England,  were  at  liberty  to  pursue  an 
independent  course  of  policy.  The  subject  of  negro  slav- 
ery engaged  their  attention  at  an  early  period;  but,  un- 
happily for  the  new  government,  their  territory  was  over- 
spread with  an  unfortunate  race,  who,  by  education, 
habits,  and  resentment  of  former  injuries,  were  the  ene- 
mies rather  than  the  members  of  the  social  compact.  In 
this  state  of  affairs,  an  immediate  emancipation  would 
have  tolerated  a  free  communication  of  hostile  feelings 
amongst  a  people  whose  antipathies  were  as  universal  as 
their  colour.  In  1780,  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  although 
then  occupied  in  the  struggle  for  independence,  passed  an 
act  for  gradual  manumission.  Subsequently  the  whole 
country,  north  of  Virginia,  consisting  of  eight  States,  has 
either  effected  the  total  extinction  of  slavery,  or  obtained 
the  very  near  prospect  of  it.  In  1787,  a  law  was  passed, 
prohibiting  slave-keeping  in  the  vast  tract  of  country  north 
of  the  Ohio,  and  east  of  the  Mississippi.67  By  these  means 
the  United  States  have,  in  thirty-eight  years,  almost  pro- 
duced a  total  liberation  of  negroes,  over  half  their  juris- 
diction,—  a  progress  vastly  more  rapid  than  England 
made  in  the  introduction  of  a  similar  system  of  release,  in 
her  dependencies.  It  is  unnecessary  to  enter  here  on  the 
spirit  and  tendency  of  British  domination  in  every  quarter 
of  the  globe.  If  the  contrast  between  the  policy  of  the 
governments  of  the  United  [121]  States  and  England  is  not 
sufficient  to  restrain  antijacobin  tongues  within  the 
bounds  of  decorum,  the  common  interest  of  their  faction 
may,  perhaps,  be  a  stronger  inducement  to  silence,  as  the 
subject  affords  a  most  striking  example  of  popular  repre- 
sentation  operating  as  a  most   admirable   corrective   of 

67  Flint  here  refers  to  the  Northwest  Ordinance,  passed  by  the  Congress  of 
the  Confederation,  July  13,  1787. —  Ed. 


1 46  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

an  abuse  that  has  grown  up  under  the  fostering  care  of 
aristocracy. 

December  19.  The  inauguration  of  the  professors  of 
the  university  of  Lexington  occasioned  much  stir  to-day." 
They  paraded  the  streets  accompanied  by  music,  the 
students,  and  a  numerous  assemblage  of  the  people.  I 
witnessed  a  similar  procession  at  New  York;  and  am  told 
that  this  practice  is  usual  at  the  commencement  of  college 
sessions  in  America. 

Another  musical  practice  gained  ground  here  some  time 
ago.  A  newly  married  couple  procured  a  band  of  instru- 
mental musicians  to  play  before  their  house  on  the  evening 
of  their  marriage  day.  In  a  late  instance  a  great  number 
of  boys  procured  small  conical  tubes  of  tinned  iron,  and 
joined  in  the  concert,  by  blowing  vehemently.  The  dis- 
concerted performers  were  overpowered  by  a  more  in- 
tense sound,  and  desisted.  No  fair  bride  of  Lexington 
has  been  since  greeted  by  a  serenade.  This  is  one  of  the 
few  instances  where  the  manners  of  this  country  are  not 
to  be  traced  to  British  origin;  but  seem  to  be  formed  on 
the  model  of  the  true  Castilian. 

December  24.  Left  Lexington.  On  this  occasion  I  was 
the  only  passenger  in  the  mail  coach.  Clear  frosty 
weather  allowed  the  sides  of  the  carriage  to  be  kept  open, 
so  that  I  enjoyed  a  view  of  the  country.  The  expedition 
in  travelling  is  great,  considering  the  badness  of  the  roads. 
The  land  that  was  beautifully  verdant  a  short  time  ago,  is 
[122]  now  withered  by  the  cold.  No  green  herbage  is  to 
be  seen. 

A  part  of  the  country  by  Licking  River  is  hilly,  poor,  and 
almost  covered  over  with  detached  pieces  of  limestone. 

•  For  a  brief  sketch  of  Transylvania  University,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume 
iv  of  our  series,  note  126. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  147 

The  clearing  of  this  land  waits  for  a  more  dense  population 
than  the  present.  In  the  spots  where  the  woods  are  cut 
down,  crops  of  Indian  corn  are  repeated  without  inter- 
mission. Economical  agriculture  has  no  place  here.  The 
rude  implements  are  left  to  rot  in  the  field;  and  the 
scythe  allowed  to  hang  on  a  tree  from  one  season  to  an- 
other. 

December  25.  The  coach  stopped  at  Washington,  from 
seven  o'clock,  last  night,  till  three  this  morning.  It  over- 
set on  my  way  hither,  and  though  I  received  no  injury,  I 
resolved  upon  going  no  further  with  that  vehicle  in  the 
dark,  and  over  such  bad  roads.  About  five  o'clock  I  was 
awakened  by  the  firing  of  guns  and  pistols,  in  celebration 
of  Christmas  day.  I  heard  no  one  speak  of  the  nature  of 
the  event  that  they  were  commemorating.  So  universal 
was  the  mirth  and  conviviality  of  the  people,  that  I  could 
not  procure  a  person  to  carry  my  portmanteau  to  Lime- 
stone. It  remained  for  me  to  stop  all  day  at  Washington, 
or  sling  my  baggage  over  my  own  shoulders.  I  preferred 
the  latter  alternative,  and  proceeded  on  my  way. 

At  Limestone,  negroes  and  boys  continued  their  firing 
till  late  in  the  afternoon. —  Every  sort  of  labour  without 
doors  was  suspended. 

A  watermark  on  the  beach  showed  that  the  Ohio  had 
lately  risen  to  the  height  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet.  It 
had  now  subsided  to  half  that  quantity,  and  had  more 
than  a  third  part  of  its  surface  covered  with  ice,  in  brisk 
motion  downwards. 

December  26.  Two  large  family  boats  (tied  end  to  end) 
were  about  to  leave  Limestone  for  Cincinnati.  [123]  I 
agreed  to  go  with  them,  and  moved  off  in  the  afternoon. 
Sailing  amongst  moving  ice  is  not  attended  with  much 
danger,  except  at  the  commencement  of  the  flood,  when 


148  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

the  accumulation  is  sometimes  very  great.  In  other 
cases  the  boat  acquires  nearly  the  same  velocity  with  the 
ice. 

The  two  boats  contained  upwards  of  forty  New  Eng- 
landers.  Their  activity  in  this  (to  them)  new  way  of 
travelling,  shewed  a  considerable  degree  of  enterprise  and 
ingenuity. 

In  the  evening  we  moored  by  the  margin  of  the  river. 
In  this  situation  the  craft  were  exposed  to  collision  with 
the  moving  ice.  The  men  were  sagacious  enough  to 
know,  that  lying  ashore  was  more  unsafe  than  keeping  in 
motion,  but  generously  yielded  to  the  mistaken  timidity  of 
the  females,  who  were  much  averse  to  sailing  in  the  night. 

December  27.  The  ice  continued  to  float  downward, 
and  surrounded  us  so  much,  that  we  could  derive  but 
little  facility  from  rowing.  Passed  Augusta,  a  neat 
village  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river.69  Its  court 
house  denotes  that  it  is  a  county  town. 

December  29.  This  morning  the  frost  was  intense.  A 
wild  duck,  frozen  to  a  large  mass  of  ice  floated  past  our 
mooring.  A  young  man,  who  accompanied  me  in  a  canoe 
in  pursuit  of  it,  had  one  of  his  hands  wet;  the  part  was 
slightly  frostbit. 

New  Richmond  is  a  thriving  town,  on  the  north  bank 
of  the  river.70  It  consists  of  about  a  hundred  houses. 
Four  years  ago  there  was  not  a  house. 

We  have  seen  some  farming  on  the  sides  of  the  hills, 
near  the  river,  that  is  performed  in  a  most  slovenly  manner. 
Indian  corn  is  the  only  crop,  and  is  repeated  continually. 

89  Augusta,  at  that  time  the  seat  of  Bracken  County,  is  eighteen  and  a  half 
miles  below  Maysville. —  Ed. 

70  New  Richmond,  twenty  miles  above  Cincinnati,  was  platted  in  1814  by  a 
former  resident  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  hence  its  name.  It  was  incorporated  in 
1828.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  149 

No  part  of  the  manure  [124]  is  returned  to  the  fields. 
The  houses  are  rude  log  cabins,  built  as  near  the  river  as 
is  consistent  with  security  from  the  floods.  Their  chil- 
dren are  dirty  and  ragged  in  the  extreme.  The  comforts 
of  these  people  must  consist  chiefly  in  having  enough  to 
eat  and  drink,  and  in  having  no  fear  of  the  exactions  of 
the  landholder,  the  tytheholder,  or  the  collector  of  taxes. 

LETTER  X 

Cincinnati  —  Situation  —  Manufactures  —  Settlement  and 
Progress  —  Weather  —  Credulity  and  Want  of  Ed- 
ucation —  Descend  the  Ohio  —  Islands  —  Jefferson- 
ville  —  Louisville  —  Falls  of  the  Ohio  —  Taverns  and 
Accommodations  —  Expedition  for  Exploring  the  Mis- 
souri Country  and  Forming  a  Military  Post  there  — 
Miscellaneous  Observations  interspersed. 

Jefiersonville,  (Indiana,) 
May  19,  1819. 

I  concluded  my  last  letter,  dated  Cincinnati,  30th  De- 
cember last,  without  taking  any  notice  of  the  town;  I 
shall  therefore  begin  the  present  one  with  some  particulars 
respecting  that  place. 

Cincinnati  is  no  sooner  seen  than  the  importance  of  the 
town  is  perceived.  A  large  steam  grist  mill,  three  large 
steam  boats  on  the  stocks,  and  two  more  on  the  Kentucky 
side  of  the  river,  and  a  large  ferry  boat,  wrought  by  horses, 
were  the  first  objects  which  attracted  my  attention.  The 
[125]  beach  is  lined  with  keel  boats,  large  arks  for  carry- 
ing produce,  family  boats,  and  rafts  of  timber.  On  shore 
the  utmost  bustle  prevails,  with  drays  carrying  imported 
goods,  salt,  iron,  and  timber,  up  to  the  town,  and  in  bring- 
ing down  pork,  flour,  &c.  to  be  put  aboard  of  boats  for 
New  Orleans. 


150  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  town  is  situated  in  north  latitude  390  5'  54",  and 
in  west  longitude  850  44',  according  to  the  determination 
of  Mr.  Ellicott. 7l  The  distance  from  Pittsburg  is  305  miles 
by  land,  and  513^  miles  by  the  windings  of  the  river.  The 
streets  are  laid  out  in  a  rectangular  form,  and  are  enliv- 
ened by  drays,  waggons,  and  an  active  people.  The  houses 
are  nearly  all  of  brick  and  timber:  about  two  hundred  new 
ones  have  been  built  in  the  course  of  the  year.  Merchants' 
shops  are  numerous,  and  well  frequented.  The  noise  of 
wheel  carriages  in  the  streets,  and  of  the  carpenter,  the 
blacksmith,  and  the  cooper,  make  a  busy  din.  Such  an 
active  scene  I  never  expected  to  see  amongst  the  back 
woods  of  America.72 

The  manufactories  of  this  new  place  are  more  diversi- 
fied than  extensive.  An  iron  foundery,  two  breweries, 
several  distilleries,  a  woollen  manufactory,  a  cotton-mill, 
an  oil-mill,  a  grist-mill,  a  nail-cutting  machine,  a  tan- 
work,  a  glass-house,  and  a  white-lead  factory,  seem  to 
be  the  principal  ones.  But  the  more  numerous  part  of 
the  artizans  are  joiners,  bricklayers,  blacksmiths,  plaster- 
ers, shoe-makers,  tailors,  hatters,  bakers,  tobacconists,  cabi- 
net-makers, saddlers,  &c.  &c.  Journeymen  mechanics 
earn  from  one  and  three-fourths  to  two  dollars  per  day. 
Their  board  costs  about  three  dollars  per  week.  Most  of 
them  dress  well  on  the  days  they  are  hot  at  work,  and 
some  of  them  keep  horses. 

In  the  end  of  December,  1788,  or  beginning  of  January, 
1789,  Cincinnati  was  first  founded  by  about  [126]  twenty 
persons.    For  some  time  the  place  was  occupied  more  in 

71  For  a  biographical  sketch  of  Andrew  Ellicott,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume 
iv  of  our  series,  note  213. —  Ed. 

73  For  the  early  history  of  Cincinnati,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our 
series,  note  166. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  151 

the  manner  of  a  fort  than  of  a  town,  the  neighbouring 
country  being  in  the  possession  of  hostile  Indians,  who,  on 
different  occasions,  killed  several  of  the  settlers.  In  1790, 
a  governor,  and  the  judges  of  a  supreme  court,  for  the  ter- 
ritory, arrived.  In  1792,  the  first  school  and  the  first 
church  were  built.  In  1799  the  legislative  authority  of 
the  governor  was  succeeded  by  that  of  an  assembly.  In 
1803,  the  State  government  of  Ohio  was  instituted.  In 
1806,  the  government  was  removed  from  Cincinnati  to 
Chillicothe.  In  1800,  the  town  contained  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  people,  and  in  1805,  only  nine  hundred  and  sixty. 
It  was  subsequently  to  the  last  date  that  Cincinnati  showed 
indications  of  outgrowing  a  village  and  becoming  a  town. 
Within  three-and-a-half  years  past,  the  population  is 
supposed  to  have  been  doubled,  and  the  amount  is  now 
believed  to  be  nearly  ten  thousand. 

January  1,  1819.  To-day  the  boys  of  the  town  made 
a  great  noise  by  firing  guns  and  pistols.  They  com- 
menced last  night  about  dusk.  During  the  night  I 
heard  much  noise  of  fighting  and  swearing  amongst  adult 
persons. 

January  3.  (Sunday.)  Works  of  necessity  form  a 
numerous  class  here.  To-day  boats  were  loading  pork, 
and  drays  carrying  it  down  to  the  river. 

January  8.  To-day  the  river  was  almost  covered  with 
ice  floating  downward.  Many  large  pieces  adhering  to- 
gether form  boards  of  one  or  two  acres  in  extent.  The 
pieces  of  hemlock  tree  intermixed  make  it  plain  that  these 
masses  of  ice  are  from  the  Allegany  river. 

January  10.  (Sunday.)  Dealers  in  pork  were  (in  one 
instance)  busy  cutting  up  and  salting.  I  [127]  saw  some 
young  men  in  a  small  boat  examining  the  driftwood  on 
the  river;  when  pine  logs  came  within  their  reach  they 


152  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

dragged  them  ashore.  Others  were  intercepting  timber 
of  every  description,  for  fuel. 

January  11.  The  weather  frequently  changes  from 
frosty  to  humid.  Yesterday  at  two  P.M.  the  thermometer 
stood  at  760  in  sunshine.  The  hottest  day  since  the  ninth  of 
December.     To-day  the  temperature  was  540  in  the  shade. 

Jan.  13.  At  seven  o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  ther- 
mometer indicated  210.  By  mid-day,  the  sun's  rays  soft- 
ened the  mud  in  the  streets.  The  people  say  that  the 
winter  has  hitherto  been  milder  than  usual,  and  some 
infer  that  we  will  have  no  severe  cold  during  the  season. 
Last  winter  the  thermometer  was  once  observed  to 
stand  so  low  as  io°  below  zero.  The  greatest  cold  from 
1787  to  1806  was  minus  180.  The  most  intense  frosts  of 
this  country  have  the  effect  of  congealing  the  moisture  in 
forest  trees,  and  splitting  them  with  a  loud  noise.  Not- 
withstanding the  moderation  of  the  present  season,  the 
grasses  and  weeds  on  the  ground  are  withered  to  white- 
ness. In  the  woods  no  evergreen  plants  are  to  be  seen, 
except  the  tufts  of  mistletoe,  which  are  perched  on  the 
branches  of  the  tallest  trees. 

Examples  of  credulity  are  not  rare.  Yesterday  a 
woman  was  deriving  liberal  emolument  in  town  from 
fortune-telling,  and  from  her  supposed  sagacity  in  know- 
ing every  thing  respecting  stolen  goods,  She  also  pre- 
tended to  have  the  faculty  of  discovering  springs  of  water 
and  metallic  ores,  by  means  of  the  divining  rod.  Her 
speaking  in  the  German  language  led  me  to  suppose  that 
she  is  descended  from  that  part  of  Europe,  where  Rhab- 
domancy  73  [128]  is  prevalent.    Almanack  predictions  of 


n  i.  e.  Divination  by  the  wand.  This  science  may  be  fashionable,  but  un- 
questionably it  must  be  a  novelty,  as  the  occult  sciences,  particularly  that  of 
divination,  can  only  exist  with  the  vulgar. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  153 

the  weather  are  works  of  reference.  I  have  seen  several 
family  registers  of  marriages,  and  the  births  of  children, 
in  which  the  sign  of  the  zodiac  in  which  the  sun  was,  at 
the  time  of  the  particular  events,  is  recorded.  The  posi- 
tions are  believed  to  have  propitious  or  baneful  influence 
on  the  fate  of  the  individual.  In  some  parts  of  the  Union, 
what  are  called  snake-stones  are  relied  on  as  certain  cures 
for  the  bite  of  the  reptile,  and  of  mad  dogs,  in  opposition 
to  the  remonstrances  of  medical  men.  Such  articles  of 
belief  having  gained  ground,  a  suspicion  arises  that  the 
culture  of  the  mind  is  much  neglected,  but  unfor- 
tunately the  position  is  established  by  more  direct  evi- 
dence. During  my  very  short  stay  in  this  place,  I  have 
seen  persons  applying  to  others  to  read  the  addresses  on 
packages  of  goods,  or  letters,  and  the  sign-boards  of  mer- 
chants. A  newspaper,  in  bewailing  the  want  of  schools, 
feelingly  observed,  that ' '  the  Ohian  is  in  many  cases  grow- 
ing up  to  manhood,  with  scarcely  any  other  intelligence 
than  that  derived  from  the  feeble  light  of  nature."74 
Books  are  scarce.  I  have  seen  a  biography  of  General 
Washington;  some  notices  of  the  military  and  naval  char- 
acters of  America;  a  history  of  the  war;  the  Pittsburg 
Navigator;  and  some  small  almanacks  more  frequently 
than  any  others.  The  advertisements  of  booksellers  indi- 
cate that  they  deal  in  romance.  Many  of  the  people  are 
not  in  possession  of  a  copy  of  the  Apocrypha)  of  course 
such  Jewish  stories  as  the  Idol  Bel,  or  Susanna  and  the 
elders,  are  not  often  made  the  topics  of  conversation.75 
[129]  January  14.    To-day  I  met  with  one  of  the  pas- 

74  Portsmouth  Gazetteer,  No.  4. —  Flint. 

78  These  stories  are  found  in  the  apocryphal  chapters  of  the  book  of  Daniel 
in  the  Old  Testament;  for  Idol  Bel,  see  chapter  14;  for  Susanna,  see  chapter 
13.—  Ed. 


154  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

sengers  who  came  over  with  me  in  the  ship  Glenthorn. 
He  has  settled  with  his  family  about  twenty-five  miles 
from  this  place,  having  bought  an  hundred  and  seventy 
acres  of  land,  fifty  acres  of  which  are  cleared  and 
fenced.  There  is  a  house,  two  barns,  and  a  young  orchard 
on  the  property.  For  the  whole  he  paid  seventeen  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  dollars,  and  can  rent  it  out  at  twelve 
and  a  half  per  cent,  on  the  price.  He  said  that  he  medi- 
tates making  another  purchase,  and  that  he  does  not  regret 
having  left  his  native  country. 

Since  my  arrival,  I  have  seen  an  old  acquaintance,  who 
emigrated  upwards  of  two  years  ago.  He  bought  an  ex- 
cellent farm,  which  was  well  cultivated,  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  and  paid  two-thirds  of  the  price  in  ready  money. 
The  money  with  which  he  ought  to  have  paid  the  remain- 
ing part  of  the  price,  he  imprudently  lent  to  some  neigh- 
bours, who  never  repaid  him.  The  ultimate  instalment 
was  soon  demanded,  which,  being  unable  to  pay,  he  was 
obliged  to  sell  the  land.  At  this  stage  of  the  business,  he 
found  that  he  had  originally  agreed  to  pay  for  the  farm 
twice  its  value,  and  was  forced  to  leave  it,  after  having 
lost  nearly  all  his  money. 

Two  large  steam-boats  from  Pittsburg,  put  in  here  on 
their  way  for  New  Orleans.78  One  of  them  had  been 
forty-eight  hours,  and  the  other  forty-six  hours  and  fifty 


76  The  "New  Orleans,"  built  for  Fulton  and  Livingston  at  Pittsburg  in  1811, 
was  the  first  steamboat  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers.  Having  made  a 
triumphant  journey  down  to  New  Orleans,  an  object  of  wonder  at  every  town 
on  the  way,  she  did  not  attempt  to  return,  but  ran  between  that  city  and 
Natchez  until  her  destruction  in  1814.  The ' '  Enterprise, ' '  the  fourth  steamboat 
on  Western  waters,  after  serving  Jackson  in  his  defense  of  New  Orleans,  made 
the  first  attempt  to  steam  up  the  river,  reaching  Louisville  in  twenty-five  days. 
But  the  water  was  high  and  she  frequently  found  an  easy  course  over  inundated 
fields,  so  that  it  was  reserved  for  the  ' '  Washington, ' '  which  made  a  like  journey 
in  181 7,  to  demonstrate  the  value  of  the  steamboat  for  Western  commerce. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  155 

minutes,  in  descending  the  river.  The  distance,  as  for- 
merly stated,  is  513^  miles. 

The  launching  of  a  large  steam-boat  attracted  a  great 
assemblage  of  spectators.  A  careful  observation  of  their 
countenances  convinced  me,  that  the  complexion  is  more 
pale  here  than  at  Lexington.  The  difference  is  sufficiently 
striking  to  induce  the  belief,  that  there  is  a  considerable 
disparity  in  the  climate  of  the  two  places. 

[130]  Last  week  the  weather  was  partly  wet,  and  partly 
clear,  the  temperature  was  usually  about  500. 

Jan.  28.  This  has  been  a  warm  day,  the  temperature 
5  20  in  the  shade,  the  thermometer,  exposed  to  sunshine, 
stood  at  88°.  The  sky  was  clear,  without  a  single  cloud.  I 
have  never  seen  in  this  country  figured  icicles  on  the  insides 
of  windows  during  frosty  weather.  This  is  a  clear  proof 
of  the  dryness  of  the  climate. 

31.  I  have  some  pleasure  in  stating  my  conviction,  that 
honesty,  benevolence,  and  some  other  Christian  virtues, 
are  not  singularities  in  this  town.  Several  congregations 
that  I  have  attended,  behave  with  the  attention  and  grav- 
ity which  becomes  the  worship.  It  was  easy  to  recognise 
many  persons,  who  go  to  church  three  times  on  the  same 
day.  A  preacher  here  of  the  Cameronian  sect,  is  a  man 
of  talent  and  information.  His  diligence  is  no  less  con- 
spicuous than  his  abilities.  In  addition  to  preaching 
three  times  on  Sundays,  he  gives  sermons  in  private  houses 
on  other  evenings  of  the  week. 

February  4.  This  evening  there  were  several  heavy 
showers  of  rain,  accompanied  with  more  thunder  than  the 
residents  have  ever  heard  at  the  same  season  of  the  year. 
For  a  week  past,  we  have  had  no  bright  sunshine;  but 
westerly  winds,  and  a  temperature  of  6o°  has  been  almost 
uniform. 


1 56  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

With  candour  towards  the  American  name,  I  must 
state,  that  much  of  the  credulity  recently  hinted  at,  appears 
to  be  chargeable  on  people  from  Germany  and  Ireland, 
and  their  descendants.  Methodists  are  also  said  to  be 
true  believers.  It  is  at  least  certain,  that  the  journal  of 
their  great  apostle,  Lorenzo  Dow,  is  replete  with  para- 
graphs not  dictated  by  the  strictest  accuracy.77 

[131]  February  7.  To-day  I  left  Cincinnati,  on  my  way 
for  Jeffersonville,  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  The  boat  in 
which  I  proceeded  is  a  flat  ark,  loaded  with  flour  and  pork, 
for  New  Orleans.  There  are  five  such  boats  in  company, 
all  belonging  to  the  same  owner,  who  accompanies  them. 
The  wind  has  been  south-westerly,  and  the  thermometer, 
exposed  to  the  sunshine,  (which  is  but  dim)  stood  at  6o°. 
The  warm  weather,  of  late,  has  been  uniformly  attended 
by  wind  blowing  up  the  river,  importing,  as  it  were,  the 
air  of  a  more  southern  latitude. 

The  flower  buds  of  the  water-maple,  the  elm,  and  the 
leaves  of  the  weeping  willow,  are  burst  out,  and  the  grass 
has  become  green.  Dr.  Drake,  the  describer  of  this  west- 
ern country,  has  stated  the  usual  time  of  the  flowering  of 
the  water-maple  at  a  month  later.  It  is  to  be  feared  that 
this  early  vegetation  will  be  checked  by  subsequent  frosts. 
Fruit  trees,  in  that  event,  may  be  rendered  unproductive 
for  the  ensuing  season. 

We  put  ashore,  at  night,  twenty-three  miles  from  Cin- 
cinnati.    Gusts  of  wind,  and  a  dark,  clouded  atmosphere, 

77  Lorenzo  Dow,  a  native  of  Coventry,  Connecticut,  began  his  work  as  a 
Methodist  preacher  in  New  York  in  1779.  He  spent  some  years  in  Ireland, 
endeavoring  to  convert  the  Irish  to  Methodism;  also  in  England,  where  he  in- 
troduced camp-meetings,  not  without  opposition  from  a  large  part  of  the  Eng- 
lish Methodists.  Upon  his  return  to  America,  he  travelled  from  place  to  place, 
holding  revivals.  During  his  later  life  he  was  almost  fanatical  in  his  bitterness 
towards  the  Jesuits,  and,  as  Flint  implies,  his  zeal  led  him  to  make  extravagant 
statements. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  157 

dissuaded  us  against  sailing  during  the  night.    Much  rain 
and  loud  thunder  ensued. 

8.  The  boatmen  are  not  obliged  to  row  in  the  present 
moderately  high  stage  of  the  water.  It  is  sufficient  to 
make  a  few  pulls  occasionally  to  keep  off  the  shore.  Two 
boats  are  tied  alongside  of  each  other,  and  put  about  with 
the  broadside  to  the  stream.  They  float  at  the  rate  of 
nearly  four  miles  per  hour. 

9.  Last  night  at  dusk,  we  passed  the  Swiss  settlement 
Vevay,  which  lies  on  the  Indiana  side  of  the  river.78  These 
people  are  said  to  be  industrious  cultivators  of  the  ground. 
Wine  is  their  staple  [132]  product.  It  is  procured  from 
a  round  black  grape,  nearly  the  size  of  a  musket  ball. 
The  liquor  is  often  of  an  acid  taste,  and  apt  to  undergo 
the  acetous  fermentation  in  keeping.  We  continued  our 
course  all  night.  The  owner  and  I  slept  in  the  boat  by  a 
fire,  where  we  had  scarcely  room  enough  to  stretch  our- 
selves. In  all  other  respects  this  is  a  pleasant  way  of  trav- 
elling. The  river,  in  most  parts  which  we  have  lately 
seen,  appears  to  be  from  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  yards 
broad,  environed  with  rich  bottoms,  and  beyond  these 
high  limestone  ridges.  From  the  tops  of  these  to  the 
water's  edge,  the  surface  is  covered  with  stupendous 
woods,  with  cleared  farms  at  intervals.  A  few  of  the 
houses  seem  to  be  externally  neat,  but  the  majority  of  them 
are  log  cabins.  The  north  side  of  the  river  is  more  thickly 
settled  than  the  south  side,  where  a  negro  population  is  to 
be  seen  along  the  banks. 

In  the  afternoon  we  heard  a  remarkable  sound  issuing 
from  a  swamp  near  the  river.  I  was  told  that  it  was  the 
croaking  of  frogs.     There  must  have  been  myriads  of 

78  For  the  Swiss  settlement  at  Vevay,  see  Bradbury's  Travels,  volume  v  of  our 
series,  note  164. —  Ed. 


158  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

them  in  the  place,  as  the  noise  was  incessant,  like  that  of 
wind  amongst  trees,  or  the  fall  of  water  over  a  distant  cas- 
cade. 

A  contrary  wind  forced  us  to  run  ashore  at  a  part  where 
the  limestone  ridge  is  within  thirty  yards  of  the  beach. 
The  rock  is  of  the  siliceous  kind,  and  the  narrow  bottom 
is  strewed  with  large  blocks  that  have  tumbled  from  the 
steep.  In  the  evening  there  was  much  rain  and  thunder, 
the  wind  continuing  contrary  and  violent. 

10.  Early  in  the  morning  we  heard  the  howling  of 
wolves  in  the  woods.  Scarcely  a  single  patch  of  cleared 
ground  is  to  be  seen  for  several  miles. 

Louisville  is  situated  at  the  south-western  extremity 
[133]  of  a  stretch  of  the  river  that  passes  in  a  straight  line 
for  six  miles,  so  that  the  town  terminates  a  beautiful 
water  prospect.79  The  river  is  here  half  a  mile  in 
breadth. 

The  towns  passed  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river, 
are,  Port-William,  and  West-Port.  Those  on  the  Indiana 
side,  are,  Laurenceburg,  the  Rising  Sun,  Vevay,  and 
Madison,  all  places  of  recent  erection  and  thriving. 

The  Pittsburg  Navigator  enumerates  sixty  islands  in 
Ohio  above  the  falls.  They  are  so  uniform  in  their  char- 
acter, that  a  description  of  one  of  them  will  give  a  general 
idea  of  all  the  rest.  The  upper  end  is  broad,  and  inter- 
cepts part  of  the  gravel  that  is  moved  downward  during 
floods,  forming  a  wide  bar  which  acts  as  a  partial  dam 
that  divides  the  stream  into  two  parts,  deflecting  each  of 
them  toward  the  shores  of  the  mainland,  as  represented 
by  the  figure. 

The  two  currents  are  then  deflected  from  the  shores 


"  For  a  brief  account  of  Louisville,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i  of  our 
series,  note  106. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America 


159 


toward  the  island,  which  is  thereby  curtailed  in  its  lower 
parts,  and  at  its  extremity  contracted  almost  to  a  point. 
The  two  currents  unite  below,  and  form  a  deep  channel. 
At  the  head  of  the  island  the  water  is  shallow.  The  largest 
and  oldest  timber  stands  on  the  lower  end,  and  [134] 
younger  plants  of  willow,  sycamore,  &c.  on  the  upper  end 
of  the  island.  It  is  farther  to  be  noticed,  that  the  trees 
on  islands,  although  of  rapid  growth,  are  by  no  means  so 
large  as  those  on  the  adjoining  banks  and  bottom  lands. 
The  alluvial  process  deposits  gravel  at  the  head.    Over 


this,  sand  is  precipitated;  and  lastly,  a  superstratum  of 
mud  and  driftwood  is  deposited,  forming  a  rich  soil  for 
the  growth  of  timber.  These  facts,  taken  in  connection, 
show  that  additions  are  continually  making  at  the  head, 
and  that  the  converging  streams  are^simultaneously  carry- 
ing off  the  lower  end  of  the  island. 

In  most  instances,  these  are  not  the  islands  discovered 
by  the  first  white  men  who  explored  the  Ohio.  Nor  are 
they  those  that  will  be  known  by  the  same  names,  thirty, 
forty,  or  fifty  years  hence.  Their  being  gradually  ex- 
changed for  others  farther  upward,  produces  an  effect 
similar  to  what  would  be  occasioned  by  the  same  islands 
moving  against  the  stream,  in  their  progress  forcing  the 


1 60  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

current  against  the  shores,  and  thereby  preserving  a  capa- 
cious bed  for  the  river. 

From  Cincinnati  downward,  the  ridges  which  bound  the 
valley  of  the  river  on  both  sides  are  more  broken,  and  di- 
vided into  distinct  hills,  and  are,  of  course,  more  diver- 
sified and  pleasant  than  the  unvaried  ledges  farther  up. 
The  traveller,  notwithstanding,  is  apt  to  feel  tired  of  the 
insipidity  of  the  scenery.  The  same  woods  obstruct  his 
view,  or  the  same  rude  style  of  improvement  meets  his  eye 
everywhere. 

I  landed  at  Jeffersonville,  a  small  town  on  the  Indiana 
side  of  the  river.80  It  stands  on  a  high  bank,  and  has  the 
most  pleasant  situation  of  any  town  that  I  have  seen  on 
the  banks  of  the  river. 

[13$]  February  12.  Visited  Louisville,  the  town,  next 
to  Lexington,  the  largest  in  Kentucky.  The  population 
probably  amounts  to  about  3000  persons.  The  falls  im- 
mediately below  the  town  being  navigable  for  large  craft 
only  during  times  of  high  water,  Louisville  derives  great 
advantage  from  the  carrying  trade. 

13.  Went  over  the  rapids.  The  fall  is  said  to  be 
twenty- two  feet  and  a  half  in  less  than  two  miles.  Nearly 
the  whole  of  the  declivity  is  distributed  into  three  shoots 
or  rapids,  where  the  stream  is  very  swift,  occasioning 
breakers  amongst  the  rocks.  Except  in  times  of  very  high 
water,  boats  are  conducted  downward  by  pilots  who  are 
well  acquainted  with  the  falls.  The  temperature  of  this 
morning  was  26  %°. 

17.  Last  night  a  gentleman  from  Carolina  lodged  in 
the  tavern  here.    After  a  hired  man  had  given  him  slip- 

80  Jeffersonville,  on  the  site  of  old  Fort  Steuben  at  the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  was 
laid  out  in  1802  in  accordance  with  a  plan  proposed  by  President  Jefferson.  It 
soon  superseded  the  older  neighboring  town  of  Clarksville,  upon  the  same 
tract  of  land. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  161 

pers,  and  asked  him  for  his  boots  to  be  blacked,  he  ex- 
claimed, "As  I  wish  to  see  my  Maker,  I  would  not  live 
in  a  free  state,  where  one  white  man  cleans  the  boots  of 
another." 

A  small  degree  of  aversion  to  frivolous  detail  does  not 
prevent  me  from  describing  a  back-woods  tavern.  Like 
its  owner,  it  commonly  makes  a  conspicuous  figure  in  its 
neighbourhood.  It  is  a  log,  a  frame,  or  a  brick  house, 
frequently  with  a  wooden  piazza  in  front.  From  the  top 
of  a  tall  post,  the  sign-board  is  suspended.  On  it,  a 
Washington,  a  Montgomery,  a  Wayne,  a  Pike,  or  a 
Jackson,  is  usually  pourtrayed,  in  a  style  that  might  not 
be  easily  deciphered  except  for  the  name  attached.  On 
the  top  of  the  house  is  a  small  bell,  which  is  twice  rung 
before  meals.  Immediately  after  the  second  peal,  travel- 
lers and  boarders  assemble  around  the  table,  where  they 
commence  eating  without  preface.  In  such  promiscu- 
ous [136]  parties,  the  governor  of  a  state,  or  a  general  of 
the  militia,  may  be  seen  side  by  side  with  the  waggoner. 
The  larger  towns  having  taverns  of  different  qualities,  and 
different  rates  of  charges,  a  distinction  of  company  is  the 
natural  consequence.  We  breakfast  and  sup  on  coffee  or 
tea,  accompanied  with  plenty  of  beef,  bacon,  chickens, 
and  eggs.  The  hostess  (or  host  if  he  is  unmarried)  takes 
her  seat  at  the  head  of  the  table,  and  dispenses  the  tea. 
One  or  two  hired  people  (or  slaves,  in  slave-keeping  parts 
of  the  country)  wait  at  table.  At  dinner,  wheaten  and 
Indian  corn  breads,  beef,  pork,  venison,  wild  turkey, 
geese,  and  poultry,  are  staple  articles;  with  a  profusion 
of  vegetables,  such  as  cucumbers,  onions,  cabbages,  beans, 
and  preserved  fruits.  Lodging  in  taverns  has  not  gener- 
ally all  the  convenience  that  could  be  wished  for.  It  is 
common  to  see  several  beds  in  the  same  room,  and  these 


1 62  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

are  simple  bedsteads  without  hangings.  There  are  no 
bells  in  the  bed-rooms,  and  other  apartments;  nor  are 
menials  accustomed  to  move  at  the  signal  of  the  stranger. 
Water  is  rarely  to  be  met  with  in  bed-rooms;  washing  is, 
of  course,  performed  under  a  shed  behind  the  house,  or 
at  the  pump.  A  full  house  is  always  the  apology  for  caus- 
ing two  strangers  to  sleep  in  the  same  bed;  the  propriety 
of  the  custom  will  always  be  admitted  by  the  person  who 
arrives  latest.  It  has  been  my  lot  to  sleep  with  a  diversity 
of  personages;  I  do  believe,  from  the  driver  of  the  stage 
coach,  to  men  of  considerable  name.  The  noted  cutaneous 
disease  is  certainly  not  prevalent;  if  it  was,  the  beds  of 
taverns,  which,  like  burying  grounds,  lay  all  on  a  level, 
would  soon  make  the  disease  as  prevalent  in  this  coun- 
try, as  in  some  others  in  the  old  world. 

[137]  If  Europeans  and  others,  who  indulge  in  censo- 
rious remarks  on  western  taverns  and  tavern-keepers, 
would  make  reasonable  allowances  for  the  thinly-settled 
state  of  the  country,  the  high  price  of  labour,  and  the  great 
numbers  of  travellers,  their  criticisms  might  be  somewhat 
softened.  The  man  who  cannot  enjoy  a  placid  temper 
under  privation  of  a  part  of  the  comforts  of  a  more  ad- 
vanced state  of  society,  is  surely  to  be  pitied  for  having 
business  in  the  back  woods  of  America. 

A  very  inferior  breed  of  cows  and  horses  are  to  be  seen 
almost  every  where  by  the  river.  This  may  be  partly 
imputed  to  the  want  of  proper  fodder,  and  of  shelter  in 
the  winter.  Cattle  are  not  housed  in  the  season,  when 
every  plant  is  withered  to  whiteness.  Grass  is  not  sown 
to  succeed  the  crops.  A  growth  of  tall  weeds  takes  im- 
mediate possession  of  the  soil.  Hay,  therefore,  is  a  scarce 
article.    Indian  corn  is  resorted  to  as  a  substitute,  but  it 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  163 

appears  to  be  too  hard  for  mastication.    Butter  and 
cheese  sell  at  25  cents  (i3j4d.  sterling)  per  pound. 

February  17.  This  morning  was  clear  and  frosty. 
Temperature  320  in  the  morning.  Snow  fell  to  the  thick- 
ness of  an  inch  in  the  forenoon.  In  the  afternoon  it  dis- 
appeared. 

18.  The  morning  was  clear;  temperature  200.  In  the 
afternoon  the  ice  melted. 

19.  Temperature  290  in  the  morning.  In  the  fore- 
noon, snow  fell  to  the  thickness  of  an  inch  and  a  half.  In 
the  evening  it  became  liquid. 

There  is  much  wet  ground  in  the  vicinity  of  the  falls. 
Intermittent  fevers  afflict  the  inhabitants  toward  the  end 
of  summer  and  in  autumn.  Last  season  an  unusual 
degree  of  sickness  was  experienced. 

New  settlers  continue  to  descend  the  river.  Family 
boats  are  almost  continually  in  sight.  In  a  [138]  boat 
lying  ashore  to-day,  a  man  was  busy  in  making  shingles. 
He  has  brought  with  him  pine  timber  from  Allegany  river. 
Shingles  give  a  good  price  here,  where  pine  trees  do  not 
grow,  and  they  furnish  him  with  employment  at  inter- 
vals. This  is  a  good  specimen  of  the  provident  habits 
and  the  industry  of  New  Englanders,  a  people  admirably 
adapted  for  taking  possession  of  the  woods. 

March  1.  To-day  the  people  of  Jeffersonville  elected 
a  Squire,  (Justice  of  the  Peace.)  Two  young  men  dis- 
agreed, and  fought  a  furious  battle.  In  justice  to  the 
election,  it  is  admitted  that  the  fight  was  in  consequence 
of  an  old  quarrel. 

I  have  met  with  no  less  than  eight  Scotsmen  to-day. 
We  are  said  to  be  the  most  national  of  all  Europeans  in 
America,  and  the  most  loyal  to  old  monarchy. 


1 64  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  weather  is  mild  and  clear,  with  the  aspect  of  spring. 
Birds  begin  to  chirp  in  the  woods;  their  plumage  is  fine, 
but  they  are  not  songsters. 

Jeffersonville  contains  about  sixty-five  houses,  thirteen 
stores  (shops,)  and  two  taverns;  the  land  office  for  a  large 
district  of  Indiana,  and  a  printing  office  that  publishes 
a  weekly  newspaper,  and  where  the  American  copy  of 
the  most  celebrated  of  all  reviews  is  sold.  A  steam-boat 
is  on  the  stocks,  measuring  180  feet  long,  and  forty  broad; 
estimated  to  carry  700  tons.  There  are  now  thirty-one 
steam-boats  on  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio.  Twenty-nine 
more  are  building,  and  in  a  forward  state. 

At  present,  a  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  the  falls  of 
Ohio  costs  100  dollars,  including  provisions.  Goods 
are  carried  2X6%  cents  per  pound  weight.  This  high  rate, 
with  the  danger  of  passing  through  a  most  unhealthy 
climate,  in  case  of  arriving  after  the  beginning  of  July,  [139] 
or  before  the  end  of  October,  gives  Baltimore,  Philadel- 
phia, or  New  York,  a  decided  preference  to  Europeans 
who  would  settle  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  Ohio  country, 
or  on  the  Missouri.  It  is,  indeed,  conjectured,  that  the 
increase  of  steam-boats  will  soon  occasion  a  competition, 
and  a  great  fall  in  the  freight ;  but,  it  is  only  after  a  great 
deduction  taking  place,  that  New  Orleans  need  be  com- 
pared with  Baltimore,  as  the  port  for  landing  emigrants. 

May  19.  The  steam-boat,  Western  Engineer  and  a 
number  of  keel-boats,  descended  the  falls  to-day,  with  a 
considerable  body  of  troops,  accompanied  by  a  mineral- 
ogist, a  botanist,  a  geographer,  and  a  painter.81    Their 

81  This  was  the  expedition  of  Major  Stephen  H.  Long.  The  object  stated  by 
Flint  was  abandoned,  due  to  bad  management  of  the  military  branch  of  the 
undertaking.  While  the  party  was  wintering  near  the  mouth  of  the  Platte 
River,  Long,  returning  to  Washington,  received  new  instructions  from  President 
Monroe,  namely,  to  seek  a  pass  through  the  Rocky  Mountains  south  of  the 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  165 

object  is  to  explore  the  Missouri  country,  and  to  form  a 
garrison  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  river,  about  1800 
miles  up  the  Missouri  river.  Five  other  steam-boats,  be- 
sides other  craft,  are  expected  to  join  the  expedition. 
The  Western  Engineer  has  on  the  bow,  a  large  sculpture 
of  the  head  of  a  snake,  through  which  the  waste  steam 
escapes;  a  device,  independently  of  the  general  aspect  of 
the  equipment,  that  might  be  enough  to  strike  terror 
amongst  the  savage  tribes. 

I  shall  conclude  this,  with  mentioning  two  singular 
occurrences.  The  passage  of  a  steam-boat  from  Pitts- 
burg to  Louisville,  seven  hundred  miles  in  fifty  hours; 
and  the  marriage  of  a  girl  in  this  place,  at  the  age  of  eleven 
years  and  three  months. 


[140]  LETTER  XI 

Morals  and  Manners  of  the  People  —  Defects  in  Educa- 
tion— Generosity — The  President  of  the  United  States. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,) 
June  28,  1819. 
My  residence  at  this  place  for  some  time  past,  prevents 
me  from  noting  down  such  occurrences  as  travellers  usually 
meet  with.  This  letter  must  therefore  be  composed  of 
other  materials.  Some  remarks  therefore  on  the  people 
will  form  the  subject;  premising  that  it  is  not  the  Ameri- 

route  of  Lewis  and  Clark,  and  on  the  return  journey  to  examine  the  source  of 
Red  River.  Abandoning  their  steamer,  "Western  Engineer,"  the  party 
mounted  horses,  followed  the  south  fork  of  the  Platte  to  the  base  of  the  moun- 
tains, saw  and  named  Long's  Peak,  crossed  over  to  the  Arkansas,  and  ascended 
it  to  the  Royal  Gorge.  There,  despairing  of  success,  they  gave  up  the  attempt 
and  started  home.  The  Union  Pacific  Railway  now  follows,  in  large  measure, 
the  route  travelled  by  Long.  In  returning,  he  followed  a  stream  which  he  sup- 
posed was  the  Red,  but  which  proved  to  be  a  tributary  of  the  Arkansas.  For 
the  journal  of  this  expedition,  see  volumes  xiv-xvii  of  our  series. —  Ed. 


1 66  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

can  character  in  general  that  I  treat  of.  My  opinions 
and  assertions  are  founded  on  my  own  limited  observa- 
tion, and  on  what  I  conceive  to  be  authentic  facts. 

The  European,  on  his  first  arrival  in  the  United  States, 
may  perhaps  expect  to  find  sound  republican  principles, 
and  good  morals,  pervading  nearly  the  whole  population. 
He  has  probably  heard  that  capital  punishments  are  rare, 
and  from  that  circumstance,  may  have  inferred  that  there 
are  few  crimes  to  punish.  For  some  time  this  ideal  char- 
acter may  be  entertained.  Newspapers  will  naturally  be 
looked  to,  as  the  current  records  of  delinquency;  in  these, 
multitudes  of  cases  regarding  the  proceedings  against 
criminals  are  entirely  omitted.  After  some  correspond- 
ence with  the  people,  and  after  some  observation  of  inci- 
dents, a  sojourner  from  the  old  world  will  be  apt  to  mod- 
ify his  original  opinion. 

[141]  Last  winter,  a  committee  of  inquiry  into  the  state 
of  the  prison  at  Baltimore,  stated  in  strong  terms  the  in- 
adequacy of  the  present  modes  of  punishment,  and  the 
deplorable  increase  of  offenders,  who  by  their  numbers 
threaten  to  overwhelm  every  lenient  corrective.  The  con- 
finement not  being  solitary,  and  the  young  being  mixed 
with  older  and  more  experienced  desperadoes,  the  institu- 
tion intended  for  reformation  is  literally  converted  into 
a  school  of  vice,  where  plans  for  future  depredations  are 
regularly  concerted.    The  speech  of  Governor  Clinton,82 

82  De  Witt  Clinton  (i  769-1 828)  was  from  early  manhood  engaged  in  New 
York  politics.  Beginning  as  secretary  to  his  uncle,  Governor  George  Clinton, 
he  was  state  senator  from  1 798-1802;  mayor  of  New  York  from  1 802-1815;  and, 
with  the  exception  of  four  years,  governor  from  18 17  until  his  death.  His  in- 
terest in  the  Erie  Canal  is  well  known.  In  181 2  he  urged  its  construction  upon 
Congress;  failing  in  that  he  drew  up  an  elaborate  memorial  to  the  state  legis- 
lature, which  had  great  weight  in  inducing  that  body  to  undertake  the  enter- 
prise. When  the  canal  was  opened  (1825),  he  was  carried  on  a  canal  barge 
in  triumphal  procession  from  New  York  to  Lake  Erie. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  167 

at  the  opening  of  the  last  session  of  the  legislature  of  New 
York  State,  is  another  authority  on  this  subject.  That 
gentleman  feelingly  deplored  the  growth  of  depravity,  and 
affirmed  that  magistrates  are  unable  to  inflict  deserved 
punishments  on  all,  and  that,  from  the  numbers  com- 
mitted, there  is  a  necessity  for  extending  pardon  to  an  un- 
due extent,  or  of  granting  absolute  impunity.  He  stated 
farther,  that  the  prisoner  released  is  sometimes  re-com- 
mitted for  a  new  crime  on  the  same  day. 

The  river  Ohio  is  considered  the  greatest  thoroughfare 
of  banditti  in  the  Union.  Here  the  thief,  in  addition  to 
the  cause  of  his  flight,  has  only  to  steal  a  skiff,  and  sail 
down  the  river  in  the  night.  Horse  stealing  is  notorious 
in  the  western  country,  as  are  also  escapes  from  prison. 
Jails  are  constructed  of  thin  brick  walls  or  of  logs,  fit  only 
to  detain  the  prisoner  while  he  is  satisfied  with  the  treat- 
ment he  receives,  or  while  he  is  not  apprehensive  of  ulti- 
mate danger.  Runaway  apprentices,  slaves,  and  wives, 
are  frequently  advertised.  I  have  heard  several  tavern- 
keepers  complain  of  young  men  going  off  without  paying 
for  their  board.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  where  so 
many  are  continually  moving  in  this  extensive  country, 
without  property,  without  acquaintances,  [142]  without 
introductory  letters,  and  without  the  necessity  of  support- 
ing moral  character. 

Swearing,  as  I  have  repeatedly  mentioned,  is  a  most 
lamentable  vice.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  I  have  already 
heard  more  of  it  in  America  than  twice  the  aggregate  heard 
during  the  whole  of  my  former  life. 

A  high  degree  of  nationality  is  frequently  to  be  ob- 
served, and  encomiums  on  American  bravery  and  intelli- 
gence poured  forth  by  men  who  are  not  remarkable  for  the 
latter  quality,  and  who,  by  their  ostentation,  raise  a  doubt 


1 68  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

as  to  their  possessing  the  former.  Their  conduct  seems 
to  be  more  disgusting  to  cultivated  Americans,  than  to 
Europeans. 

Here  are  multitudes  of  persons  who  have  no  accurate 
notions  of  decorous  behaviour.  This,  no  doubt,  may 
arise  partly  from  their  ideas  of  the  equality  of  men,  with- 
out making  due  allowances  for  morals,  manners,  intellect, 
and  education.  Accustomed  to  mix  with  a  diversity  of 
company  at  taverns,  elections,  and  other  places  of  public 
resort,  they  do  not  well  brook  to  be  excluded  from  private 
conversation.  On  such  occasions,  they  exclaim,  ' '  This  is 
a  free  country"  or  a  "land  oj  liberty"  adding  a  profane 
oath.  They  do  not  keep  in  view  that  one  man  has  a 
natural  right  to  hear,  only  what  another  is  willing  to  tell 
him.  Of  late  I  have  several  times  found,  that  when  I  had 
business  to  transact,  a  third  party  drew  near  to  overhear 
it.  Hired  people,  mixing  with  families  and  their  visitors, 
have  ample  means  of  gaining  a  knowledge  of  other  people's 
affairs.  I  shall  relate  a  story  which  I  have  on  good  author- 
ity. A  gentleman,  in  a  State  where  slaves  are  kept,  en- 
gaged some  carpenters  from  a  neighbouring  free  State  to 
erect  a  barn.  On  the  day  of  their  first  arrival  they  eat 
[143]  along  with  himself.  On  the  second  day  the  family 
took  breakfast  a  little  earlier  than  usual,  and  caused  the 
table  to  be  covered  anew  for  the  mechanics,  previous  to 
their  coming  in.  They  were  so  highly  offended  with  this 
imaginary  insult,  that  they  went  off  without  finishing  their 
work.  This  little  affair  became  so  well  known  in  the 
vicinity,  that  the  gentleman  could  not  procure  other  work- 
men for  some  time.  This  extension  of  liberty  and  equality 
is  injurious,  inasmuch  as  it  prevents  the  virtuous  part  of 
society  from  separating  from  the  vicious;  and  so  far  as  it 
removes  from  the  unprincipled  and  untutored  part,  the 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  169 

salutary  incitement  to  rest  character  on  good  behaviour 
and  intelligence,  instead  of  citizenship,  or  an  allusion  to 
the  land  0}  liberty,  or  the  favourite  maxim  that  one  man  is 
as  good  as  another.  I  have  frequently  been  asked  such 
questions  as,  " Where  are  you  come  from?  Where  are 
you  going  ?  What  are  you  to  do  there  ?  What  have  you 
got  in  these  here  boxes  ?  Are  you  a  merchant  ?  I  guess, 
then,  you  are  a  mechanic.' ' — Dr.  Franklin  did  well  in 
wearing  labels  on  his  person,  announcing  his  name,  his 
residence,  the  place  he  was  travelling  for,  and  his  business 
there. 

The  abolition  of  titles  and  hereditary  distinctions  in 
America  has  not  been  productive  of  all  the  simplicity  of 
address  that  might  have  been  expected,  or  was  perhaps 
intended  by  the  illustrious  founders.  Squire,  the  appella- 
tion designating  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  or  Magistrate,  is 
commonly  retained  for  life,  although  out  of  office,  or  even 
when  dismissed  for  misconduct.  It  is  so  also  amongst 
officers  in  the  militia.  Men  who  are  appointed  Captains, 
or  Majors,  and  may  have  been  present  at  trainings  for  a 
short  time,  are  called  Captains  or  Majors  ever  afterwards. 
Of  ex  officio  corporals  or  Serjeants  I  have  heard  no  men- 
tion made.  The  persons  who  [144]  take  charge  of  keel- 
boats  are  also  Captains.  Except  in  cases  where  such 
names  as  those  just  alluded  to  are  applied,  Mr.  is  the 
epithet  of  every  man,  and  is  applied  on  every  occasion. 
All  are  gentlemen.  The  wife  is,  of  course,  Mrs.;  the 
daughter  and  maid  servant  are  indiscriminately  saluted 
Miss,  or  Madam.  All  are  ladies.  Thus  the  Christian 
name  has  fallen  into  disuse.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  under- 
stood as  approving  of  giving  an  appellation  to  one  man 
and  withholding  it  from  another,  but  would  only  observe, 
that  where  all  are  Mr.  Mrs.  and  Miss,  these  terms  do  not 


1 70  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

imply  a  distinctive  mark,  and  that  the  simple  Christian 
names  would  be  more  discriminately  useful  in  the  affairs 
of  life,  if  not  almost  as  respectable. 

A  passion  for  money  has  been  said  to  be  a  great  char- 
acteristic of  Americans.  To  admit  this  would  perhaps 
be  conceding  too  much.  It  is  certain  that  security  of 
property  and  high  profits  on  capital,  tend  to  promote  this 
disposition,  and  it  therefore  cannot  be  wonderful  that 
America  has  a  full  proportion  of  enterprizing  citizens,  and 
such  as  are  essential  to  the  progress  of  a  new  country. 

Polite  behaviour,  talents,  education,  and  property,  have 
influence  in  society,  here,  as  elsewhere.  It  is  true  that 
many  who  occupy  the  back  ground  are  obtrusive,  and 
wish  to  act  on  the  principle  of  equality,  and  that  violations 
of  decorum  are  not  repulsed  with  the  same  contempt  as 
in  Britain;  but  it  is  only  those  who  are  agreeable  in  their 
manner  and  conversation,  that  can  be  received  as  inter- 
esting companions  amongst  accomplished  men.  The 
finer  sympathies  of  human  nature  are  not  to  be  taken 
possession  of  by  force.  Those  who  have  believed  in  the 
equality  of  society  in  America,  have  adopted  a  position 
physically  and  morally  impossible. 

[145]  Most  of  the  defects  noticed  may  be  traced  to 
the  education  of  youth,  reared  in  families  where  the 
parents  have  not  had  the  advantage  of  early  culture,  and 
where  the  son  becomes  a  mere  transcript  of  the  father, 
the  model  after  which  he  is  formed.  If  he  is  sent  to 
school,  in  most  cases  he  knows  that  the  teacher  is  not 
allowed  to  whip  him.  The  teacher  is  thus  rendered  any 
thing  but  that  object  of  reverence  which  becomes  his 
office,  and  it  can  scarcely  be  expected  that  the  young  free- 
man will  be  much  inclined  either  to  follow  the  precepts 
or  to  imitate  the  example  of  his  tutor.    He  is  practically 


1818-1820]       Flint*  s  Letters  from  America  171 

taught  to  look  down  on  the  learned  man  as  an  inferior, 
and  to  despise  the  most  useful  attainments.  The  most 
efficient  means  of  instruction,  then,  are  those  of  the  family, 
where,  in  too  many  instances,  the  children  are  the  unre- 
strained offspring  of  nature.  It  gives  no  pleasing  sensa- 
tions to  hear  them  swearing,  at  an  age  when  they  ought 
to  be  learning  to  know  one  letter  from  another,  or  to  see 
them  throwing  off  submission  to  parents,  and  assuming 
all  the  confidence  of  manhood  before  they  arrive  at  half 
the  stature. 

There  is  one  trait  of  character  sufficiently  generous  to 
give  a  lustre  to  the  American  name.  The  stranger  is  not 
insulted  on  account  of  his  country.  I  have  not  seen  or 
heard  of  a  single  instance  where  a  native  of  Britain  has 
met  with  a  disagreeable  reflection  for  having  paid  taxes 
to  the  government  so  long  inimical  to  the  Republic,  and 
that  has  repeatedly  leagued  with  savages  in  carrying  blood- 
shed amongst  her  people. 

In  almost  every  part  where  I  have  travelled,  I  have  met 
with  intelligent  and  interesting  individuals.  In  every 
town  where  my  stay  was  for  any  considerable  length  of 
time,  I  have  become  acquainted  [146]  with  citizens  whom 
I  should  be  happy  to  meet  again.  A  few  introductory 
letters  which  I  brought  with  me  to  this  country,  have  not 
only  procured  for  me  the  most  polite  and  friendly  recep- 
tions, but  other  introductions  to  respectable  and  eminent 
persons  before  me  on  my  route;  letters  not  weakened  by 
the  distance  of  my  friends,  whose  good  wishes  dictated 
the  first,  but  if  possible  stronger  than  the  originals. 

To  give  a  summary  character  of  the  American  people, 
or  even  of  any  considerable  portion  of  them,  is  beyond  the 
reach  of  my  observation  and  intellect.  It  may  be  safe  to 
state,  that  they  are  much  diversified  by  education,  local 


172  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

circumstances,  and  the  sources  from  which  the  popula- 
tion has  been  derived.  The  manners  of  Britain  seem  to 
predominate.  The  want  of  schools  is  a  great  desidera- 
tum in  new  settlements.  Hence  it  is,  that  in  travelling 
from  the  coast  into  the  interior,  the  proportion  of  unedu- 
cated persons  appears  to  be  the  greater  the  farther  to  the 
westward :  a  fact  that  has  been  noticed  by  many,  and  one 
showing  that  civilization  follows  in  the  rear  of  popula- 
tion. 

His  Excellency  James  Munro,  President  of  the  United 
States,  is  now  on  a  tour  through  the  southern  and  western 
parts  of  the  country.83  On  the  24th  current,  three  of  our 
citizens,  deputed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  went  to 
congratulate  him,  on  his  arrival  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  to  invite  him  to  visit  Jeffersonville.  On  accidentally 
meeting  with  them  returning,  I  felt  myself  at  a  loss  for  a 
trite  phrase  in  congratulating  them,  and  could  only  tell 
them  bluntly,  that  in  Europe  we  should  say,  You  are  very 
loyal.  One  of  them  was  polite  enough  to  set  me  right, 
by  informing  me,  that  the  object  of  their  mission  was  to 
make  an  expression  [147]  of  public  respect.  Should  you 
consider  the  loyalty  of  Europe,  and  the  public  respect  of 
America  as  convertible  terms,  you  will  also  have  occasion 
to  be  set  right,  and  this  may  perhaps  be  best  done  by 
telling  you,  that  the  President  does  not  engage  in  dub- 
bing knights  or  granting  sinecures:  —  That  public  officers 
are  not  appointed  by  his  fiat,  nor  with  the  concurrence  of 
a  privy  council  of  his  choice;  but  in  conjunction  with  the 
Senate,  whose  members  are  elected  by  the  people.  These 
officers  are  not  only  few,  but  their  salaries  are  merely 
remunerations  for  the  services  which  they  perform.    In 

*  For  Monroe's  tour,  see  Buttrick's  Voyages,  volume  viii  of  our  series,  note 
28.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  173 

short,  the  President  is  not  regarded  as  a  dispenser  of 
public  money.  On  his  part  he  has  to  regard  public 
greetings  as  the  spontaneous  sentiments  of  disinterested 
and  independent  men,  without  repulsing  any  one  in  the 
language  of  James  the  First  of  Scotland,  "What  does  the 
cunning  loon  want  ? ' ' 

On  the  26th  the  President  arrived.  A  tall  pole  with 
the  striped  flag  was  displayed  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 
A  salute  was  fired,  and  a  large  body  of  citizens  waited  his 
coming  on  shore.  To  be  introduced  to  the  President  was 
a  wish  almost  universal,  and  he  was  subjected  to  a  labori- 
ous shaking  of  hands  with  the  multitude.  A  public  din- 
ner was  given.  This,  too,  was  an  object  of  ambition. 
Grocers  left  their  goods,  and  mechanics  their  workshops, 
to  be  present  at  the  gratifying  repast.  The  first  magis- 
trate appears  to  be  about  sixty  years  of  age.  His  deport- 
ment is  dignified,  and  at  the  same  time  affable.  His 
countenance  is  placid  and  cheerful.  His  chariot  is  not 
of  iron,  nor  is  he  attended  by  horse-guards  or  drawn 
swords.  His  protection  is  the  affection  of  a  free  and  a 
represented  people. 


[148]  LETTER  XII 

On  Emigration  —  The  Prospects  of  Emigrants  —  Incon- 
veniences —  The  method  of  laying  out  and  disposing  of 
public  lands. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,) 
August  2,  1819. 
This  letter  will  be  devoted  to  such  remarks  on  emigra- 
tion so  far  as  my  little  experience  and  short  residence  in 
America  enable  me  to  have  made.     Before  entering  upon 
the  subject,  I  think  it  proper  to  state,  that  I  disown  every 


1 74  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

intention  of  advising  any  one  to  leave  his  native  country; 
and  that  I  disapprove  of  exaggerating  the  prospects  held 
out  here,  and  underrating  those  of  Britain,  as  uncandid 
and  deceptive,  as  appealing  to  the  passions  to  decide  in  a 
matter  which  ought  to  be  determined  by  the  sober  exer- 
cise of  reason. 

In  exchanging  Britain  for  the  United  States,  the  emi- 
grant may  reasonably  expect  to  have  it  in  his  power  to 
purchase  good  unimproved  land,  and  to  bring  it  into  a 
rude  state  of  cultivation,  with  less  capital  unquestionably, 
than  that  employed  in  renting  an  equal  proportion  of 
good  ground  at  home.  He  will  not  be  burdened  by  an 
excessive  taxation,  nor  with  tithes,  nor  poor's  rates;  for 
there  are  no  internal  taxes  paid  to  the  government,  no 
privileged  clergy,  and  few  people  who  live  by  the  charity 
of  others.  His  labour  and  his  capital  will  be  more  pro- 
ductive, and  his  accumulation  of  property  more  rapid, 
(good  health,  industry,  and  economy,  presupposed,) 
[149]  and  a  stronger  hope  may  be  entertained,  that 
extreme  poverty  or  want  may  be  kept  at  a  distance.  After 
residing  five  years  in  the  country,  he  may  become  an 
elector  of  those  who  have  the  power  of  making  laws  and 
imposing  taxes. 

The  inconveniences  or  difficulties  which  attend  remov- 
ing, are  upon  no  account  to  be  overlooked.  The  man 
who  undervalues  these  is  only  holding  disappointments 
in  reserve  for  himself.  He  must  part  with  friends,  and 
every  acquaintance  to  whom  he  is  attached,  a  case  that 
he  may,  perhaps,  not  fully  understand,  till  he  acts  his  part 
in  it.  A  voyage  and  a  long  journey  must  be  submitted  to. 
He  must  breathe  a  new  air,  and  bear  transitions  and 
extremes  of  climate,  unknown  to  him  before.  His 
European  tinge  of  complexion  must  soon  vanish  from  his 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  175 

face,  to  return  no  more.  A  search  for  the  new  home  will 
require  his  serious  attention,  a  diversity  of  situations  may 
soon  be  heard  of,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  visit  or  compare 
many  of  them.  Nor  is  the  emigrant,  on  his  first  arrival, 
an  adequate  judge  of  the  soil  of  America.  In  a  dilemma 
of  this  kind  advice  is  necessary.  This  is  easily  procured 
every  where;  but  it  deserves  attention  to  know,  whether 
the  informant  is  interested  in  the  advice  he  gives.  Land 
dealers,  and  others,  naturally  commend  tracts  of  land 
which  they  are  desirous  to  sell.  The  people  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood have  also  an  interest  in  the  settling  of  neighbour- 
ing lands,  knowing,  that  by  every  augmentation  of  popu- 
lation, the  value  of  their  own  property  is  increased.  On 
several  occasions  I  have  met  with  men  who  attempted  to 
conceal  local  disadvantages,  and  defects  in  point  of  salu- 
brity, that  were  self-evident.  I  do  not  recollect  of  having 
heard  more  than  two  persons  acknowledge,  that  they 
lived  in  an  unhealthy  situation.  [150]  In  the  high  coun- 
try of  Pennsylvania,  I  was  told  that  Pittsburg  is  an 
unhealthy  place.  At  Pittsburg,  I  heard  that  Marietta 
and  Steubenville  are  very  subject  to  sickness.  At  these 
places,  the  people  contrast  their  healthy  situation  with 
Chillicothe,  which,  I  was  told,  is  very  unhealthy.  At 
Chillicothe,  the  climate  of  Cincinnati  is  deprecated;  and 
at  Cincinnati,  many  people  seem  willing  to  transfer  the 
evil  to  the  falls  of  the  Ohio.  At  this  place  the  truth  is 
partially  admitted;  but  it  is  affirmed  that  the  Illinois 
country,  and  down  the  Mississippi  are  very  unhealthy. 
The  cautious  will  always  look  to  the  views  and  character 
of  the  man  who  would  direct  them,  and  will  occasionally 
rely  on  their  own  judgments. 

In  the  public  land-offices,  maps  of  the  new  lands  are 
kept.     Sections  of  a  square  mile,  and  quarter  sections  of 


1 76  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

160  acres,  are  laid  down.  The  squares  entered  are 
marked  A.  P.  meaning  advance  paid.  This  advance  is 
half  a  dollar  per  acre,  or  one-fourth  of  the  price.  Lands, 
when  first  put  to  sale,  are  offered  by  public  auction, 
and  are  set  up  at  two  dollars  per  acre.  If  no  one  offers 
that  price,  they  are  exhibited  on  the  land-office  map,  and 
may  be  sold  at  that  rate  at  any  subsequent  time.  New 
settlers,  who  are  sufficiently  skilled  in  the  quality  of  the 
soil,  are  in  no  danger  from  land-office  transactions.  Be- 
sides the  land-offices  for  the  sale  of  national  property, 
there  are  agents  who  sell  on  account  of  individuals.  I 
can  mention  Mr.  Embree,  of  Cincinnati,  as  a  gentleman 
who  does  much  business  in  this  way,  and  with  much 
reputation  to  himself. 

The  land  office  maps  are  divided  into  townships  [151] 
of  six  miles  square.84  The  figure  represents  a  portion 
of  the  country  laid  out  in  this  way. 

The  positions  of  the  townships  relatively  to  the  base 
line,  are  expressed  by  the  numerals  I,  II,  III,  &c.  and 
their  positions  relatively  to  the  meridian  are  numbered 
on  both  sides  of  it  east  and  west,  as  marked  on  the  top 
and  bottom.  The  parallels  marked  I,  I  —  II,  II  —  III, 
III,  and  so  on,  are  called  townships,  Nos.  I,  II,  III,  &c. 
north  or  south  according  as  they  lie  on  the  north  or  south 
side  of  the  base  line.  Positions  in  regard  of  the  meridian 
are  indicated  by  the  numbers  1,  2,  3,  &c.  at  top  and  bot- 
tom, east  or  west,  as  they  lie  on  the  [152]  east  or  west  side 
of  the  meridian  line,  and  are  called  ranges,  Nos.  1,  2,  3, 

84  The  township  system  of  survey  was  adopted  in  the  first  ordinance  for  the 
sale  of  public  lands,  passed  May  20,  1785.  The  authorship  of  the  plan  has  been 
a  subject  of  controversy.  It  is  usually  attributed  to  Thomas  Hutchins,  first 
geographer  of  the  United  States,  who  had  earlier  embodied  the  idea  in  a  plan 
for  establishing  military  colonies  north  of  the  Ohio.  See  Hindsale,  Old  North- 
west (New  York,  1888),  p.  262.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America 


177 


&c.  For  an  explanatory  example,  suppose  the  designa- 
tion of  the  township  at  the  bottom  of  the  right  hand 
column  is  required.  The  square  in  question,  is  in  the 
parallel  numbered  V  south  of  the  base  line,  and  IV  east  of 


the  principal  meridian.  It  is  therefore  called  town  five 
south,  range  four  east. 

The  townships  are  divided  into  sections  of  a  square 
mile  each,  as  in  town  No.  4  north,  range  No.  3  east. 

The  figure  [page  178]  is  a  larger  representation  of  a 
township,  showing  how  it  is  divided  and  numbered. 

The  faint  lines  represent  the  divisions  of  sections  into 
quarters  of  160  acres  each.  At  the  auctions  [153]  of 
public  lands,  and  at  subsequent  sales,  lots  of  this  extent 


i78 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  9 


are  frequently  entered.    The  sixteenth  section  of  each 
township  is  reserved  for  the  support  of  a  school. 

Lands  entered  at  the  public  sales,  or  at  the  Register's 
office,  are  payable,  one  fourth  part  of  the  price  at  the 
time  of  purchase;  one  fourth  at  the  expiry  of  two  years; 
one  fourth  at  three  years,  and  the  remaining  fourth  at 
four  years.    By  law,  lands  not  fully  paid  at  the  end  of 

North. 


South. 

five  years,  are  forfeited  to  the  government,  but  examples 
are  not  wanting  of  States  petitioning  Congress  for  indul- 
gence on  this  point,  and  obtaining  it.  For  money  paid  in 
advance  at  the  land  office  a  discount  of  eight  per  cent, 
per  annum  is  allowed,  till  instalments  to  the  amount  of 
the  payment  become  due.  For  failures  in  the  payment 
of  instalments,  interest  at  six  per  cent  is  taken  till  paid. 
The  most  skilful  speculators  usually  pay  only  a  fourth 
part  of  the  price  at  entry,  conceiving  that  they  can  derive 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  179 

a  much  greater  profit  than  eight  per  cent,  per  annum 
from  the  increasing  value  of  property,  and  occasionally 
from  renting  it  out  to  others.  Where  judicious  selections 
are  made,  they  calculate  rightly. 

The  land  system  now  adopted  in  the  United  States  is 
admirable  in  regard  of  ingenuity,  simplicity,  and  liber- 
ality. A  slight  attention  to  the  map  of  a  district,  will 
enable  any  one  to  know  at  once  the  relative  situation  of 
any  section  that  he  may  afterwards  hear  mentioned,  and 
its  direct  distance  in  measured  miles.  There  can  be  no 
necessity  for  giving  names  to  farms  or  estates,  as  the  desig- 
nation of  the  particular  township,  and  the  number  of  the 
section  is  sufficient,  and  has,  besides,  the  singular  con- 
venience of  conveying  accurate  information  as  to  where 
it  is  situated.  By  the  new  arrangement  the  boundaries  of 
possessions  are  most  securely  fixed,  [154]  and  freed  alike 
from  the  inconvenience  of  rivers  changing  their  course, 
and  complexity  of  curved  lines.  Litigation  amongst 
neighbours  as  to  their  landmarks,  is  in  a  great  measure 
excluded.  The  title  deed  is  printed  on  a  piece  of  parch- 
ment of  the  quarto  size.  The  date,  the  locality  of  the 
purchase,  and  the  purchaser's  name,  are  inserted  in  writ- 
ing, and  the  instrument  is  subscribed  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  and  the  agent  of  the  general  land  office.85 
It  is  delivered  to  the  buyer  free  of  all  expense,  and  may 
be  transferred  by  him  to  another  person  without  using 
stamped  paper,  and  without  the  intervention  of  a  law 
practitioner.  The  business  of  the  land  office  proceeds 
on  the  most  moderate  principles,  and  with  the  strictest 
regard  to  justice.     The  proceeds  are  applied  in  defray- 

86  At  every  land  office,  a  register  of  the  weather  is  kept.  Three  daily  obser- 
vations of  the  thermometer,  the  direction  of  the  wind,  the  aspect  of  the  sky, 
whether  clear  or  clouded,  fair  or  rainy  days;  and  some  other  occasional  phe- 
nomena, are  noted  down. —  Flint. 


180  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ing  the  expense  of  government,  and  form  a  resource 
against  taxation.  The  public  lands  are  in  reality  the 
property  of  the  people. 

The  stranger  who  would  go  into  the  woods  to  make  a 
selection  of  lands,  ought  to  take  with  him  an  extract  from 
the  land  office  map  applying  to  the  part  of  the  country  he 
intends  to  visit.  Without  this,  he  cannot  well  distin- 
guish entered  from  unentered  grounds.  He  should  also 
procure  the  names  of  the  resident  people,  with  the  num- 
bers and  quarters  of  the  sections  they  live  on,  not  neglect- 
ing to  carry  with  him  a  pocket-compass,  to  enable  him  to 
follow  the  blazed  lines  marked  out  by  the  surveyor. 
Blaze  is  a  word  signifying  a  mark  cut  by  a  hatchet  on 
the  bark  of  a  tree.  It  is  the  more  necessary  for  the 
explorer  to  be  furnished  thus,  as  he  may  [155]  expect  to 
meet  with  settlers  who  will  not  be  willing  to  direct  him, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  tell  him  with  the  greatest  effrontery, 
that  every  neighbouring  quarter  section  is  already  taken 
up.  Squatters,  a  class  of  men  who  take  possession  with- 
out purchasing,  are  afraid  of  being  turned  out,  or  of  hav- 
ing their  pastures  abridged  by  new  comers.  Others, 
perhaps  meditating  an  enlargement  of  their  property,  so 
soon  as  funds  will  permit,  wish  to  hold  the  adjoining 
lands  in  reserve  for  themselves,  and  not  a  few  are  jealous 
of  the  land-dealer,  who  is  not  an  actual  settler,  whose 
grounds  lie  waste,  waiting  for  that  advance  on  the  value 
of  property,  which  arises  from  an  increasing  population. 
The  non-resident  proprietor  is  injurious  to  a  neighbour- 
hood, in  respect  of  his  not  bearing  any  part  of  the  expense 
of  making  roads,  while  other  people  are  frequently  under 
the  necessity  of  making  them  through  his  lands  for  their 
own  convenience.  On  excursions  of  this  kind,  the  pru- 
dent will  always  be  cautious  of  explaining  their  views, 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  181 

particularly  as  to  the  spot  chosen  for  purchase,  and  with- 
out loss  of  time  they  should  return  to  the  land-office  and 
make  entry. 

The  new  abode  being  fixed,  the  settler  may  be  sur- 
rounded by  strangers.  Polite  and  obliging  behaviour 
with  circumspection  in  every  transaction,  become  him  in 
this  new  situation. 

[156]  LETTER  XIII 

Comparative  Advantages  of  several  Parts  of  the  United 
States  —  Temperature  of  the  Climate  at  Philadelphia 
and  at  Cincinnati  —  Pennsylvania  —  Ohio  —  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  Western  Part  of  Virginia  —  Indiana  — 
Illinois  —  Missouri  —  Reflections  on  Slave-Keeping. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,) 
October,  16,  1819. 

To  determine  the  most  proper  parts  of  America  for  new 
settlers,  is  a  proposition  interesting  in  its  nature,  but  one 
that  cannot  be  solved  with  precision.  This  general  fact 
is  to  be  kept  in  view,  that,  in  the  old  populous  settle- 
ments, land  is  already  too  dear  to  admit  of  that  spon- 
taneous increase  in  value  so  profitable  in  back-wood  dis- 
tricts. The  sea-board  then  is  to  be  rejected  by  those 
who  would  go  in  search  of  the  most  profitable  investment 
of  their  capital,  and  some  part  of  the  interior  country  is 
to  be  selected.  The  vast  migration  from  the  eastern 
States  to  the  western,  is  satisfactory  evidence  of  this  state 
of  the  land  market;  and,  besides,  countenances  the  opinion, 
that  the  country  first  peopled  by  Europeans  is  not  destined 
to  such  population  and  wealth  as  that  rationally  antici- 
pated in  the  more  fertile  western  States. 

In  the  most  inland  parts  of  the  old  States,  there  are  still 
abundance  of  good  wood-lands  reserved  for  future  culti- 


1 8  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

vation,  embracing  an  extensive  range  of  climate,  and  a 
great  diversity  of  vegetable  products;  but  the  natives  of 
the  temperate  climes  [157]  of  Europe  will,  for  the  most 
part,  be  averse  to  live  under  the  scorching  sun  of  Georgia, 
or  the  intense  frosts  of  the  province  of  Maine.  Some- 
where between  the  extremes,  probably  between  Hudson 
River  and  Chesapeake  Bay,  affords  the  best  approxima- 
tion. At  Philadelphia,  for  example,  the  mean  tempera- 
ture of  the  year  may  be  stated  at  53.660,  that  quantity 
being  a  mean  of  the  results  obtained  by  the  observations 
of  Dr.  Rush,  Dr.  Cox,86  and  Mr.  Legoux;  —  a  deter- 
mination nearly  coinciding  with  that  of  Mr.  Playfair,87 
(5  3. 5  8°)  for  the  mean  temperature  of  the  vegetative  sea- 
son, from  the  20th  of  March  to  the  20th  of  October,  at 
Edinburgh,  and  only  5. 86°  higher  than  the  mean  temper- 
ature of  the  latter  place  for  the  whole  year.  It  is  true  that 
the  extreme  variations  are  much  greater  at  Philadelphia 
than  at  Edinburgh,  but  it  will  be  in  vain  to  search  for  a 
situation  in  the  United  States,  possessing  that  equability 
of  heat,  that  characterizes  the  British  islands. 

From  the  tract  of  country  under  consideration,  Mary- 

88  Benjamin  Rush  (1745-1813),  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence 
and  member  of  the  state  convention  of  1787,  was  the  most  eminent  American 
physician  of  his  day,  and  by  his  theories  regarding  the  nature  of  yellow  fever 
won  recognition  abroad.  Serving  as  physician-general  in  the  Revolutionary 
army,  for  twenty-nine  years  surgeon  in  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital,  and  through- 
out his  life  a  practicing  physician,  he  nevertheless  found  time  to  become  identi- 
fied with  many  public  measures,  notably  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  the  ex- 
tension of  public  schools,  and  was  a  member  of  nearly  every  important  literary 
and  philanthropic  society  in  Philadelphia. 

John  Redman  Cox  (1 773-1864)  was,  like  Rush,  a  Philadelphia  physician, 
being  trained  at  the  University  of  Edinburgh.  He  was  for  many  years  profes- 
sor of  chemistry  at  the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  and  edited  several  medical 
journals;  but  is  best  known  as  an  early  and  pronounced  advocate  of  vaccina- 
tion.—  Ed. 

87  John  Playfair  (1 748-1819),  an  eminent  Scottish  mathematician  and  astrono- 
mer.—  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  183 

land  and  Delaware  will  be  deducted,  as  ineligible  to  the 
man  who  does  not  wish  to  live  amongst  slaves.  He  may, 
indeed,  live  in  either  of  these  parts  without  employing  the 
involuntary  labourer,  but  the  man  of  acute  sensibility  will 
usually  be  unwilling  to  injure  the  feelings  of  his  neigh- 
bours, who  may  conceive  that  his  abstaining  from  the 
detested  practice  implies  a  practical  censure  on  their  con- 
duct. Slaves  being  addicted  to  theft  and  other  immorali- 
ties, form  a  strong  objection  against  settling  amongst 
them.  The  whole  stretch  of  country  on  the  coast,  includ- 
ing Maryland,  Delaware,  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
Jersey,  may  be  rejected,  on  account  of  the  high  price  of 
land.  The  inland  parts  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York 
States  remain  free  from  the  objections  just  mentioned, 
and  [158]  are  believed  to  possess  comparative  advantages 
in  respect  of  climate  and  soil. 

The  winter  of  New  York  State  is  the  more  severe  of  the 
two,  and  seems  to  point  out  Pennsylvania  as  preferable. 
With  the  single  defect  of  distance  from  market,  Western 
Pennsylvania  possesses  great  advantages.  The  most 
prominent  are,  a  healthy  climate,  a  good  soil,  abundance 
of  coal,  iron-ores,  limestone,  sandstone,  and  salt  springs, 
circumstances  that  render  this  country  susceptible  of  a 
dense  population,  and  a  very  high  state  of  improve- 
ment. 

It  being  assumed  that  Pennsylvania  lies  between  par- 
allels of  latitude,  the  most  temperate  of  any  on  the  eastern 
coast,  the  inference  is  natural,  that  the  States  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois,  and  part  of  Kentucky,  must  have  a  cli- 
mate of  similar  warmth,  slightly  modified,  no  doubt,  by 
the  elevation  and  prevalent  winds  of  particular  parts. 
Accordingly,  observations  made  at  Cincinnati,  (which 
lies  fifty  minutes  south  of  Philadelphia)  show,  that  its 


1 84  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

annual  mean  temperature  is  only  six-tenths  of  a  degree 
higher  than  that  of  the  latter  place.88 

The  lands  of  the  State  of  Ohio  are  understood  to  be 
more  fertile  than  those  of  Pennsylvania. —  With  good 
culture,  from  sixty  to  a  hundred  bushels  of  maize  per 
acre,  are  produced.  On  an  acre  of  land,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Little  Miami,  one  of  the  first  settlers  raised  the 
extraordinary  quantity  of  one  hundred  and  fourteen 
bushels.  The  advanced  state  of  population,  in  the  south- 
ern part  of  the  State,  has  withdrawn  the  most  choice  tracts 
of  ground  from  the  land-office;  good  lots,  however,  may 
still  be  bought  from  private  individuals  at  a  moderate 
price.  The  higher  country,  lying  nearly  [159]  equidis- 
tant from  the  river  Ohio  and  lake  Erie,  is  understood  to 
be  healthy,  fertile,  abounding  in  springs  of  water,  and 
possessing  a  good  navigation  downward,  in  wet  seasons 
of  the  year,  by  means  of  the  rivers  Muskingum,  Scioto, 
and  Miamis.  The  northern  part  of  the  State  is  described 
as  having  many  large  prairies,  of  a  rich  quality,  but  un- 
healthy. 

Kentucky,  and  the  western  part  of  Virginia,  have  much 
land  of  the  first  rate  quality;  but  the  influx  of  new  settlers 
is  greatly  prevented  by  the  insecurity  of  titles.  Sur- 
veyed at  an  early  period,  when  the  country  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  hostile  aborigines,  and  before  the  new 
method  of  laying  out  public  lands  was  adopted,  much 
confusion  as  to  boundaries  prevails.89    Many  conflicting 

88  Dr.  Drake's  Picture  of  Cincinnati,  page  116. —  Flint. 

88  In  Virginia  and  Kentucky  the  state  made  no  surveys  before  disposing  of 
its  lands.  The  settlers  or  speculators  sought  out  a  tract,  made  a  survey,  gen- 
erally marking  it  by  "blazing"  the  trees,  and  had  it  recorded  in  the  state  land- 
office.  Areas  of  all  shapes  and  sizes  were  patented,  and  unpatented  strips  of 
irregular  shape  lay  between.  Moreover,  there  was  no  limit  to  the  number  of 
patents  that  could  be  taken  out  on  the  same  piece  of  land,  the  land-office  con- 
cerning itself  not  at  all  with  controversies  over  titles,  merely  guaranteeing  an 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  185 

claims  are  frequently  made  on  the  same  tract,  and  a 
degree  of  litigation  has  ensued  that  appears  to  be  almost 
interminable.  There  is  another  cause  tending  to  retard 
the  ingress  of  new  comers  which  it  would  be  invidious  to 
repeat. 

Indiana  is  a  State  more  recently  settled  than  any  of  the 
foregoing.  The  part  where  the  Indian  title  was  extin- 
guished, was,  till  lately,  comparatively  small.  Non-resi- 
dent purchasers  have  shut  up  a  large  proportion  of  it 
from  immediate  cultivation;  some  judicious  entries  may 
still  be  made  in  the  land-office,  particularly  by  White 
River,  and  in  some  other  parts  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  Ohio.  The  land  office  map  for  Jeffersonville 
district  has  many  more  vacancies  in  it  than  that  at  Cin- 
cinnati, showing  that  it  contains  much  more  land  not  yet 
appropriated  by  individuals.  Here,  as  in  Ohio  State, 
the  high  lands  are  considered  the  most  healthy.  A 
recent  purchase  from  the  Indian  tribes  will  make  a  val- 
uable addition  to  the  State  of  Indiana.90  The  tract  is 
supposed  to  contain  about  six  [160]  millions  of  acres,  and 
is  to  be  soon  abandoned  by  the  natives.  Already  upwards 
of  a  hundred  families  have  entered  it,  for  the  purpose  of 
rearing  cattle  and  hogs.  These  will  have  excellent  oppor- 
tunities for  selling  their  stock  when  purchasers  take  pos- 
session of  the  newly  acquired  territory,  and  will  have  the 
advantage  of  becoming  acquainted  with  the  most  valuable 
lands  previous  to  the  sales.  The  surveyors,  and  other 
persons,  who  have  visited  the  new  purchase,  represent  it 

entry  if  no  previous  title  was  valid.  The  original  claim  to  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  acres  in  Kentucky  was  never  settled,  the  land  being  eventually  held  under 
possession  titles. —  Ed. 

90  This  refers  to  the  Miami  cession  made  at  St.  Mary's,  Ohio,  October  6, 1818. 
By  this  treaty  the  Delaware  and  Miami  Indians  ceded  all  central  Indiana 
between  the  Wabash  and  White  rivers. —  Ed. 


1 86  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

to  be  rich,  diversified  in  surface,  with  the  advantage  of 
navigable  waters  in  spring  and  autumn;  and  that  it  is 
much  better  adapted  to  pasturage  than  the  country 
adjoining  to  the  Ohio. 

In  the  State  of  Illinois  there  are  vast  quantities  of  land 
to  be  disposed  of  by  the  Government,  besides  the  residuary 
of  former  sales,  standing  open  in  the  land-office  maps  at 
Shawneetown 91  and  Edwardsville.92  The  recent  sur- 
veys bring  about  3,730,000  acres  into  the  market.  A 
great  portion  of  this  land  lies  on  the  Sangamon,  a  south- 
ern branch  of  Illinois  river;  and  I  am  informed  by  a 
gentleman  who  has  lately  been  there,  that  the  country  is 
the  best  that  he  is  acquainted  with.  At  a  period  not  far 
distant,  a  communication  between  Lake  Erie  and  Illinois 
river  may  be  opened  through  the  river  Plein,  which 
empties  itself  into  the  lake.93  Craft  are  said  to  have 
already  passed  out  of  the  one  river  into  the  other.  A 
large  portion  of  Illinois,  lying  between  Illinois  river  and 

n  For  the  early  history  of  Shawneetown,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i  of 
our  series,  note  108. —  Ed. 

92  Edwardsville,  on  Cahokia  Creek,  twenty  miles  northeast  of  St.  Louis,  was 
founded  in  1816,  and  named  in  honor  of  Ninian  Edwards,  first  governor  of  Illi- 
nois Territory. —  Ed. 

M  A  canal  connecting  Illinois  River  with  Lake  Michigan  was  first  suggested 
by  Jolliet  in  1673,  when  he  and  Marquette  returned  by  that  route  from  their 
exploration  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Such  a  canal  was  included  in  Gallatin's 
system  of  internal  improvements,  proposed  in  1808.  President  Madison  laid 
the  matter  before  Congress  in  18 14;  Calhoun,  as  secretary  of  war,  again  called 
attention  to  it,  in  1819;  and  for  twenty  years  it  found  a  place  in  the  governor's 
annual  message.  Finally  (1836),  its  construction  was  undertaken  by  the  state, 
aided  by  large  congressional  land  grants.  The  Illinois-Michigan  Canal,  ex- 
tending from  La  Salle,  on  the  Illinois,  to  Lake  Michigan,  at  the  mouth  of  Chi- 
cago River,  one  hundred  miles  in  all,  was  completed  in  1848,  and  opened  with 
much  ceremony.  In  1882  the  state  ceded  the  property  to  the  United  States, 
in  the  hope  that  the  latter  would  enlarge  it  for  a  ship  canal.  But  the  next  step 
was  taken  by  the  Chicago  Sanitary  District,  which  at  a  cost  of  about  $35,000,000 
has  completed  the  Chicago  Drainage  Canal  for  the  better  disposal  of  the  sewage 
of  Chicago.  This  canal  was  opened  January  2,  1900,  after  seven  years  spent  in 
its  construction.     Flint's  reference  is  to  the  Des  Plaines  (Plein)  River. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  187 

the  Mississippi,  is  a  military  grant  given  to  the  troops  who 
fought  in  the  late  war,  and  divided  amongst  them  at  the 
rate  of  a  hundred  and  sixty  acres  to  each  man.94  Shares 
of  this  land  have  been  sold  since  its  partition  at  a  dollar, 
and  even  so  low  as  half  a  dollar  per  acre.  The  military 
grant  is  chiefly  low  and  flat.  The  soil  is  rich,  and  inter- 
spersed with  [161]  prairies  95  but  subject  to  agues:  this, 
with  a  great  proportion  of  non-resident  owners,  must 
greatly  retard  the  improvement  of  the  district.  The 
northern  parts  of  Illinois  are  understood  to  possess  a 
healthy  climate. 

In  the  Missouri  Territory,  large  surveys  are  just  com- 
pleted, these  consist  of  about  a  million  of  acres  near  Osage 
river,  and  about  two  millions  toward  the  Mississippi,  in- 
cluding the  old  settlements.  The  reports  of  the  Missouri 
country  which  I  have  heard,  convince  me,  that  it  con- 
tains a  large  quantity  of  good  lands,  and  that  it  is  favoured 
with  a  fine  climate.  A  gentleman  who  wintered  at  St. 
Louis,  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  Missouri,  assured  me 
that  the  cold  is  more  severe  there  than  in  the  Ohio  coun- 
try. Although  his  opinion  was  formed  from  his  sense  of 
feeling,  without  reference  to  the  thermometer,  it  is  prob- 
ably just,  as  the  situation  of  St.  Louis  is  relatively  high, 
and  as  much  of  the  neighbouring  country  is  without  wood, 
admitting  a  free  circulation  of  winds,  from  higher  and 
more  northerly  parts. 

M  The  Illinois  military  grant  was  the  peninsula  between  the  Mississippi  and 
Illinois  rivers,  as  far  north  as  a  line  drawn  west  from  the  confluence  of  the  Illinois 
and  Vermilion  rivers.  The  value  of  the  land  began  to  appreciate  soon  after 
Flint's  journey,  and  ten  counties  were  erected  within  it  in  1824-25. —  Ed. 

m  Van  Zandt's  description  of  the  military  grant. —  Flint. 

Comment  by  Ed.  Nicholas  Biddle  Van  Zandt,  A  full  description  of  the  soil, 
water,  timber,  and-  prairies  .  .  .  of  the  military  lands  between  the  Missis- 
sippi and  Illinois  rivers  (Washington,  1818).  The  author,  the  title-page 
shows,  was  "Late,  a  clerk  in  the  General  Land  Office  of  the  United  States, 
Washington  City." 


1 88  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

In  the  countries  adjoining  to  Arkansau  and  Red  rivers, 
about  two  millions  of  acres  are  laid  out  for  sale.  The 
former  of  these  rivers  is  understood  to  be  larger  than  the 
Ohio,  and  passes  through  a  fertile  country.  The  post  of 
Arkansau  is  situated  a  little  northward  of  latitude  340.98 
A  parallel  that  must  be  felt  uncomfortably  hot  by  most 
Europeans.  Cotton  is  the  most  profitable  product;  a 
vegetable  that  has  hitherto  been  almost  exclusively  cul- 
tivated by  involuntary  labourers. 

Michigan  and  north-west  territories  are  understood  to 
be  fertile,  and  well  adapted  to  rearing  cattle.  Detroit  is 
the  capital  of  Michigan.97  In  [162]  the  north-west  terri- 
tory there  are  two  settlements;  one  at  Fort  Howard,  and 
the  other  Prairie  du  Chiens.98  A  military  post  is  to  be 
formed  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Peter's  river,  below  the  Falls 
of  St.  Anthony.99  These  extensive  regions  lie  in  a  lati- 
tude corresponding  with  that  of  the  New  England  States; 
and  will  probably  be  peopled  by  a  hardy  race  of  freemen, 

"  For  the  Arkansas  Post,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our  series,  note 
195.—  Ed. 

•'  For  the  early  history  of  Detroit,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i  of  our 
series,  note  18. —  Ed. 

•8  For  Fort  Howard,  see  Evans's  Tour,  volume  viii  of  our  series,  note  8a. 

The  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin  had  been  the  site  of  temporary  trading-posts 
during  the  French  regime,  but  the  first  permanent  settlement  was  begun  in  1781 
by  Indian  traders.  For  the  expedition  thither  the  following  year,  see  J.  Long's 
Voyages,  volume  ii  of  our  series,  pp.  186-191.  During  the  War  of  1812-15 
Prairie  du  Chien  was  alternately  in  possession  of  the  Americans  and  British; 
see  Wisconsin  Historical  Collections,  xiii,  pp.  1-164.  Upon  the  return  of  peace, 
the  Americans  built  Fort  Crawford  (18 16)  which  was  for  many  years  a  military 
post  and  Indian  agency. —  Ed. 

M  Lieutenant  Pike  obtained  the  site  for  this  fort  from  the  Indians  in  1805, 
but  no  use  was  made  of  it  until  1819,  when  Fort  St.  Anthony  was  begun  at  the 
mouth  of  Minnesota  (St.  Peter's)  River.  Upon  the  recommendation  of  Gen- 
eral Scott,  who  inspected  it  in  1824,  the  name  was  changed  to  Fort  Snelling,  in 
honor  of  the  military  officer  who  directed  its  construction.  It  was  sold  by  the 
government  at  private  sale  in  1857;  but  a  congressional  inquiry  ensuing,  a  new 
arrangement  was  made  in  187 1,  whereby  the  fort  was  retained  and  the  re- 
mainder of  the  military  reservation  transferred  to  the  purchaser. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  189 

when  the  lands  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  can  be  no 
longer  procured  at  a  low  rate. 

Those  who  would  go  in  search  of  healthy  situations 
may  keep  in  view,  that  their  object  can  only  be  attained, 
at  a  distance  from  swamps,  and  rivers  which  overflow 
their  banks;  it  being  well  known,  when  the  former 
are  dried  up,  and  when  the  latter  recede  within  their 
low-water  boundaries,  vast  quantities  of  mud  and  vege- 
table matters  are  exposed  to  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  a 
rapid  decomposition  immediately  commences.  The  gase- 
ous constituents  evolved  give  a  perceptible  taint  to  the 
air,  and  are  understood  to  form  the  miasmata  that  occa- 
sion agues,  bilious  fevers,  and  liver  complaints.  The 
best  navigable  waters,  and  the  most  healthy  parts  of  the 
country,  are,  in  some  measure,  incompatible,  and  seldom 
admitting  of  immediate  proximity  to  one  another.  Hap- 
pily, a  moderate  height  of  land  is  usually  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent the  accumulation  of  stagnant  waters,  and  to  promote 
a  motion  in  rivers,  that  lessens  the  scope  of  their  inunda- 
tions, or  retains  them  altogether  within  their  banks.  A 
degree  of  elevation  conducive  to  a  comparatively  healthy 
climate,  may  be  usually  found  within  two  or  three  miles 
of  the  river;  but  as  the  contaminated  air  is  liable  to  be 
transported  by  winds,  and  probably  not  sufficiently  diluted 
with  the  atmosphere  in  passing  over  such  small  spaces; 
a  greater  distance  from  the  source  of  contagion  [163]  is  no 
doubt  preferable.  I  have,  on  various  occasions,  seen  per- 
sons from  the  higher  country,  about  forty  miles  north  of 
this  place,  whose  complexions  are  apparently  more  healthy 
than  those  of  the  people  who  live  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio;  and  several  of  late  who  profess  to  have  a  reluctance 
to  come  down  to  the  river  on  business,  at  the  present  sea- 
son of  the  year. 

In  the  preceding  part  of  this  letter  I  mentioned  the 


190  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

high  country  lying  near  the  heads  of  the  northern  tribu- 
taries of  the  Ohio,  as  having  a  good  climate.  That  part 
of  it  watered  by  the  Muskingum,  the  two  Sciotas,  and  the 
two  Miamis,  possesses  a  downward  navigation  in  spring, 
and  in  the  latter  end  of  autumn,  but  as  these  rivers  enter 
the  Ohio  above  the  falls  at  Louisville,  the  upward  navi- 
gation is  interrupted  there  during  the  summer  months. 
This  single  circumstance  amounts  to  a  weighty  objection 
against  the  eastern  part  of  the  country  under  considera- 
tion. 

The  western  part  has  two  great  navigable  streams,  the 
Wabash,  and  the  Illinois.  The  Wabash  is  navigable  for 
boats  drawing  three  feet  of  water,  to  the  distance  of  about 
400  miles  from  its  mouth,  and  in  floods  about  200  miles 
farther.  Its  largest  tributary  is  White  River,  which  is 
navigable  to  a  great  distance  upward.  It  waters  a  fertile 
and  delightful  country,  and  joins  the  Wabash  below  all 
its  rapids  except  one  run,  which  forms  no  great  obstruc- 
tion to  the  navigation.  The  new  seat  of  government  is 
to  be  erected  on  the  bank  of  one  of  the  streams  of  White 
River.100  The  Illinois  is  esteemed  one  of  the  best  navi- 
gations in  western  America.  So  early  as  1773,  a  Mr. 
Kennedy  sailed  upward  to  the  distance  of  268  miles  from 
its  confluence  with  the  Mississippi.101    Sangamon  river, 

100  In  the  Indiana  enabling  act  passed  in  1816,  Congress  granted  to  that  state 
for  a  seat  of  government,  any  four  sections  of  land  thereafter  to  be  acquired 
from  the  Indians.  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  legislature  selected  the 
present  site  of  Indianapolis  in  1820.  However,  it  was  then  a  wilderness  over 
sixty  miles  from  any  store,  and  the  government  was  not  actually  transferred 
thither  until  1825. —  Ed. 

101  Patrick  Kennedy  was  a  trader  at  Kaskaskia,  in  the  Illinois  country,  dur- 
ing British  ascendency.  The  expedition  referred  to  was  undertaken  in  search 
of  copper  mines,  and  extended  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  Kankakee  River.  His 
journal  of  this  tour  is  published  in  Hutchins,  A  Topographical  Description  of 
Virginia  (London,  1778). —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  191 

one  [164]  of  its  principal  streams,  is  said  to  be  navigable 
for  180  miles  by  small  craft. 

From  the  best  information  that  I  can  procure,  this 
western  division  of  the  country,  north  of  the  Ohio,  appears 
to  be  highly  eligible  to  new  settlers.  It  unites  the  advan- 
tages of  having  high  lands  and  navigable  waters  in 
immediate  contact,  and  a  shorter  and  a  better  communi- 
cation with  the  ocean  than  any  part  of  western  America, 
that  is  to  be  exclusively  cultivated  by  freemen. 

The  country  on  Missouri  river,  has  been  already  noticed 
as  possessing  advantages  in  soil  and  climate,  but  the  diffi- 
culty of  the  navigation  upward,  amounts  to  a  considerable 
objection  against  adopting  that  territory.  A  convention 
of  the  people  formed  a  constitution,  and  laid  before  Con- 
gress their  claim  for  being  admitted  as  a  State  in  the 
Federal  Union.  The  new  constitution  asserts  the  right 
of  the  people  to  hold  slaves,  and  of  admitting  more 
negroes  from  other  parts  of  the  United  States.  Towards 
the  conclusion  of  last  Session  of  the  legislature,  this  ques- 
tion of  right  was  warmly  discussed,  most  of  the  members 
from  the  Southern  States  maintained,  that  Congress  have 
no  right  to  dictate  to  the  people  of  any  new  State  on  this 
subject,  viewing  it  as  a  matter  of  internal  policy,  and  one 
that  does  not  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  general 
government, —  and  the  treaty  of  Session  stipulated,  that 
the  Spanish  colonists  remaining  in  the  country,  should 
retain  their  former  rights  and  privileges.  In  opposition 
to  these  doctrines,  the  members  from  Northern  States 
argued,  that  Congress  has  a  constitutional  right  to  inter- 
fere, and  urged  as  a  precedent,  the  act  prohibiting  the 
introduction  of  slavery  into  the  country  north-west  of  Ohio 
river,  with  other  arguments  too  numerous  to  be  recapit- 
ulated here.     It  is  painful  [165]  to  learn  that  the  repre- 


192  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

sentatives  of  the  nation  are  so  much  divided  on  this  inter- 
esting question,  and,  in  the  present  instance,  to  reflect,  that 
in  most  cases  their  proceedings  are  expressions  of  the  will 
of  their  constituents.  The  affair  waits  the  decision  of 
next  Session,  and,  in  the  meantime,  much  solicitude  pre- 
vails with  regard  to  it.  The  most  intelligent  citizens  are 
at  a  loss  to  anticipate  the  result,  and  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  are  probably  equally  uncertain,  whether  the 
new  State  shall  become  a  receptacle  of  slaves,  and  its 
representatives  the  future  advocates  of  a  Slave  keeping 
interest.  The  slave  keeping  States,  and  those  which 
have  prescribed  the  practice,  commonly  called  free  States, 
seem  to  be  struggling  for  predominance.  There  are  now 
eleven  Slave  keeping,  and  eleven  free  States,  so  that  Mis- 
souri must  give  a  sort  of  numerical  preponderance  to 
one  of  the  parties.  The  number  of  representatives  for 
free  States,  are  apportioned  according  to  the  number  of 
free  persons  in  each,  and  in  Slave  keeping  States,  they 
are  regulated  by  the  number  of  free  persons  added  to 
three-fifths  of  the  slaves,  a  method  that  has  the  effect  of 
strengthening  the  influence  of  the  Southern  party. 

When  the  Missouri  question  is  set  at  rest,102  the  people 
of  the  United  States  will  no  doubt  reflect  on  the  singular 
line  of  demarkation  which  they  have  drawn.  Supposing 
that  the  internal  frontier  was  produced  to  the  Stony  Moun- 
tains, or  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  every  speculative  mind 
must  contemplate  it,  not  merely  as  a  topographical  divi- 
sion, but  also  as  a  sort  of  moral  boundary,  separating  a 
great  nation  into  two  parts,  very  dissimilar  in  the  habits 
and  jurisprudence  of  their  people,  and  will  seriously  medi- 

1<B  The  historic  Missouri  question  was  settled  by  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
passed  by  Congress  February  27,  182 1,  admitting  Missouri  as  a  slave  state,  but 
decreeing  that  slavery  should  be  excluded  from  all  other  territory  north  of 
latitude  360  30'  N.  (the  south  boundary  of  Missouri). —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  193 

tate  on  the  possible  consequences  of  the  unhappy  differ- 
ence. I  do  not  [166]  wish  to  make  any  disagreeable  reflec- 
tion on  the  patriots  who  have  already  done  so  much  in 
circumscribing  the  boundaries  of  human  misery;  but  re- 
gret, that  such  a  wide  field  still  remains  for  their  benev- 
olent labours,  and  that  their  opponents  are  pursuing  a 
course  imminently  dangerous  to  themselves,  and  ill  cal- 
culated to  promote  the  future  tranquillity  of  the  republic. 
Many  disagreeable  incidents  have  already  been  occa- 
sioned by  the  collision  of  principle  and  interest.  Negroes 
frequently  desert  from  their  masters,  and  fly  into  neigh- 
bouring free  States.  It  may  be,  that  the  people  amongst 
whom  they  seek  refuge,  do  not  always  show  much  anxiety 
that  the  owners  shall  recover  their  property;  and  it  is  per- 
haps partly  on  account  of  this  indifference,  that  the  pur- 
suers of  slaves  adopt  forcible  means  instead  of  the  legal 
redress  prescribed  by  free  States.  Peaceful  communities 
are  thus  invaded  by  small  parties  of  armed  men,  who 
carry  off  blacks  without  certifying  their  right  to  them.  In 
two  late  instances,  two  free  blacks  in  Indiana  were  kid- 
napped by  people  from  Kentucky,  and  the  remonstrances 
made  on  the  part  of  the  former  State,  were  not  followed 
by  any  satisfactory  concession  on  the  part  of  the  latter. 
The  laws  of  free  States,  on  this  subject,  are  in  dis- 
agreement with  the  usages  of  slave-holders;  a  source  of 
contention  that  may  not  be  easily  removed.  Hitherto  no 
popular  rupture  has  been  occasioned  by  affairs  of  this 
kind;  but,  it  may  be  asked,  where  is  there  any  guarantee 
that  similar  discordances  may  not  become  more  frequent 
when  a  more  numerous  population  of  both  colours  shall 
be  crowded  along  the  neighbourhood  of  the  slave-line? 
And  may  not  the  heart-burnings  and  provincial  pride, 
now  manifest,  be  wrought  up  to  a  higher  pitch  at  a  period, 


1 94  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

perhaps  not  far  distant,  when  the  United  States  will 
become  confident  of  a  degree  of  strength  that  cannot 
require  such  a  [167]  complete  co-operation  as  heretofore 
in  repelling  the  attacks  of  foreign  force  ? 

If  the  slave-holding  party  persist  in  the  extension  of 
the  abuse,  it  would  well  become  them  to  give  up  their 
constitutional  claims  for  calling  forth  the  militia  of  north- 
ern states  "to  suppress  insurrections, ' '  and  for  protect- 
ing them  "against  domestic  violence,' '  so  far  as  slaves 
may  be  the  future  disturbers  of  the  peace.  Whether 
they  make  such  a  fair  concession  or  not,  it  is  for  them  to 
reflect  whether  their  northern  neighbours,  who  have  so 
uniformly  and  so  wisely  opposed  the  evil,  and  who  have 
so  humanely  laboured  to  eradicate  it  from  amongst  them- 
selves, will  be  willing  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood 
of  the  injured  people  who  have  never  excited  any  of  their 
feelings  except  pity. 

So  long  as  the  Missouri  question  remains  unsettled,  a 
hope  may  be  entertained  that  liberal  sentiments  may  pre- 
vail. The  northern  people  seem  to  be  almost  universally 
in  favour  of  the  restriction,  and  a  part  of  the  finest  feel- 
ings, and  the  brightest  talents  in  the  Southern  States,  are 
ranged  on  the  side  of  humanity. 


LETTER  XIV 

Lawyers  —  Doctors  —  Clergy  —  Mechanics  —  Justices 
of  the  Peace  —  Anecdotes  —  Punishments  —  Reflec- 
tions. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,) 
March  10,  1819. 
The  greater  part  of  my  letters  from  America  have 
hitherto  been  addressed  to  our  late  brother  John.     Since 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  195 

we  have  now  to  deplore  that  he  is  removed  [168]  from  all 
correspondence  with  us,  I  shall  direct  this  to  you. 

There  are  many  particulars  in  the  condition  of  this 
country,  that  must  appear  surprising  to  any  one  who  has 
not  seen  a  community  in  its  infantine  state.  We  have 
here  lawyers  who  have  not  been  regularly  educated  in  the 
knowledge  of  their  profession.  Blackstone's  Commen- 
taries are  considered  the  great  medium  of  instruction. 

The  young  man  who  has  carefully  read  these,  and  who 
has  for  a  short  time  wrote  for  a  practising  attorney,  is 
admitted  to  the  bar.  It  is  said  that  even  the  latter  part 
of  this  preparatory  course  has,  in  many  instances,  been 
dispensed  with.  The  occupation  of  barrister  and  attor- 
ney is  usually  performed  by  the  same  practitioner.103  He 
transacts  with  clients,  writes  and  pleads  before  courts  of 
justice,  or  before  a  squire,  as  occasion  requires.  If  we 
may  judge  from  grammatical  and  orthographic  inaccur- 
acies, we  must  be  apt  to  believe  that,  although  some  of 
them  may  be  esteemed  as  lawyers,  they  are  not  good 
English  scholars.  Lawyers  here,  as  elsewhere,  take  their 
stand  as  being  of  the  first  class  in  society,  and  a  great 
proportion  of  our  back-wood  legislators,  in  State  assem- 
blies, and  in  the  general  government,  are  elected  from 
among  this  body  of  gentlemen.  Such  are  many  of  the 
counsellors  who  grow  up  in  Transmontane-America;  but 
it  would  be  unfair  to  omit  noticing  that  men  of  a  very 
different  character  arise  here. —  I  shall  only  mention  one 
example  in  Henry  Clay,  a  Kentuckian  lawyer,  who  has  for 
eight  years  made  a  distinguished  figure  in  the  conspicuous 
situation  of  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  at 

108  In  Great  Britain  attorneys  are  not  permitted  to  plead  in  court  on  behalf 
of  their  clients;  that  is  the  work  of  the  barrister,  who  must  previously  have  be- 
longed to  one  of  the  inns  of  court.  Attorneys  (or  solicitors)  institute  actions, 
advise  clients,  draw  up  legal  papers,  and  act  as  assistants  to  barristers. —  Ed. 


196  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

the  capital.  Mr.  Clay  was  commissioner  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States,  at  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  in  1814,  and 
plenipotentiary  for  commercial  arrangements  with  Great 
Britain  in  181 5.  The  profession  [169]  also  owes  much 
of  its  respectability  to  the  ingress  of  young  gentlemen  of 
liberal  education  from  the  Atlantic  States,  who  make 
diligent  research  in  the  history  of  cases,  and  whose  libra- 
ries are  usually  stored  with  law  authorities,  and  the  best 
models  of  forensic  eloquence  in  the  English  language. 

The  medical  men  here  are  all  doctors,  nor  is  the  inferior 
degree,  surgeon,  at  all  recognised.  In  new  settlements, 
many  practise  on  life  and  limb  who  have  not  obtained  the 
diploma  of  any  medical  school.  The  smallness  of  their 
laboratories  renders  it  probable,  that  the  universal  medi- 
cine is  included.  Here,  too,  there  are  honoured  excep- 
tions; and  the  medical  colleges  instituted  at  Cincinnati 
and  Lexington  may  soon  furnish  more  accomplished 
practitioners. 

The  clergy  would  perhaps  excuse  my  not  giving  their 
order  the  precedence,  if  they  were  told  that  men  hold 
forth  here,  who  can  have  no  pretensions  to  qualifications 
derived  from  human  tuition.  Many  of  their  harangues 
are  composed  of  medley,  declamation,  and  the  most  dis- 
gusting tautology.  I  have  chiefly  in  view  itinerant 
preachers  of  the  method  ist  sect,  who  perhaps  cry  as  loud 
as  ever  did  the  priests  of  Baal.  Their  hearers  frequently 
join  in  loud  vociferations,  fall  down,  shake,  and  jerk  in 
a  style,  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to  attempt  to  describe. 

Incapacity  is  not  confined  to  those  situations  that  ought 
to  be  filled  with  men  of  learning,  but  extends  to  the  rudest 
branches  of  the  mechanical  arts.  It  is  not  thought  won- 
derful to  see  a  blacksmith  without  a  screw  plate;  and  I 
have  known  of  several  very  plain  pieces  of  joiner  work 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  197 

that  were  stolen  for  patterns  by  unqualified  workmen. 
Almost  every  well-finished  article  is  imported,  and  [1 70]  so 
long  as  this  impolicy  is  continued,  handicraft  must  remain 
in  a  low  state. 

We  have  here  justices  of  the  peace  who  would  not  be 
promoted  to  the  office  of  constable  in  some  older  com- 
munities. They  are  mere  petty-foggers,  who  are  occa- 
sionally employed  in  collecting  debts,  and  raising  suits  to 
be  brought  before  their  own  tribunals.  In  these  cases, 
they  act  in  the  double  capacity  of  agent  for  one  party,  and 
judge,  and  have  no  repugnance  against  collecting  their 
fees  in  the  hour  of  cause.  I  shall  relate  two  anecdotes. 
One  of  these  gentlemen,  who  lives  at  no  great  distance 
from  the  spot  where  I  write,  was  hearing  the  representa- 
tions of  two  opponents  in  open  court.  They  disagreed, 
and  commenced  a  fight.  The  squire,  not  adverse  to  this 
sort  of  decision,  joined  with  the  constable  and  some  other 
people  in  forming  a  ring  for  the  combat.  A  negro  man 
and  a  white  woman  came  before  the  squire  of  a  neigh- 
bouring township,  for  the  purpose  of  being  married.  The 
squire  objected  to  the  union  as  contrary  to  a  law  of  the 
State,  that  prohibits  all  sexual  intercourse  between  white 
and  coloured  people,  under  a  penalty  for  each  offence, 
but  suggested,  that  if  the  woman  could  be  qualified  to 
swear  that  there  was  black  blood  in  her,  the  law  would 
not  apply.  The  hint  was  taken,  and  the  lancet  was 
immediately  applied  to  the  Negro's  arm.  The  loving 
bride  drank  the  blood,  made  the  necessary  oath,  and  his 
honour  joined  their  hands,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  all 
parties.104    The  last  of  these  squires  [171]  was  not  elected 

104  Equivocations  of  this  sort  have  been  so  often  noticed  in  the  United  States, 
that  they  must  be  looked  on  as  notorious.  The  practice  of  naturalizing  foreign 
seamen  by  the  solemn  farce  of  an  old  woman's  first  cradling  bearded  men,  and 
then  swearing  that  she  rocked  them;  and  that  of  procuring  pre-emption  rights 


198  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

by  the  people,  but  appointed  under  the  late  territorial 
government  of  Indiana.  He  is  a  naturalized  citizen  of 
the  United  States,  but  a  native  of  England. 

The  election  of  a  magistrate,  is  an  affair  that  usually 
occasions  a  considerable  sensation  in  a  little  town.  The 
most  respectable  citizens  naturally  support  the  candidate 
that  has  the  real  interests  of  society  at  heart;  and  the 
more  licentious  are  as  naturally  averse  to  promote  the 
man  who,  they  believe,  would  punish  themselves.  It  is, 
therefore,  the  relative  numerical  strength  of  the  two 
parties,  that  frequently  determines  the  character  of  a  town 
judge.  It  is  understood,  that  in  new  towns  by  the  Ohio, 
the  unruly  part  most  commonly  prevail,  and  that  as  they 
advance  in  population  and  wealth,  the  more  orderly  peo- 
ple take  the  sway.  A  case  has  come  under  my  notice, 
where  the  conduct  of  [172]  a  squire  was  at  variance  with 
the  practices  of  a  large  proportion  of  his  constituents. 

to  land  in  new  territories,  by  sowing  only  a  few  grains  of  corn,  and  subsequently 
swearing  that  a  crop  has  been  cultivated  on  the  tract  claimed,  have  been  so 
frequent,  that  it  would  be  invidious  to  particularize.  In  England,  affidavits  are 
often  managed  in  a  simpler  way.  Swallowing  a  customhouse  oath  is  there  a 
well  known  expression.  Mercantile  houses  of  London  have  kept  persons,  called 
swearing  clerks,  to  vouch  for  transactions,  on  being  paid  at  the  rate  of  sixpence 
for  each  oath.  If  it  is  not  true  that  men  stand  at  Westminster  Hall  with  straws 
in  their  shoes,  indicating  their  willingness  to  undertake  any  dirty  job,  it  is  time 
that  the  foul  imputation  were  washed  from  that  pure  fountain  of  justice.  Be- 
fore prosecutions  for  conspiracies  had  become  so  fashionable  in  England  as  they 
are  now,  a  witness  on  behalf  of  the  crown  was  convicted  of  ten  separate  perjuries. 
It  would  appear  that  a  false  oath  is  a  morsel  so  hard,  that  it  requires  cooking  be- 
fore it  can  be  masticated  by  the  immoral  in  America,  and  that  a  less  delicate  class 
in  England  can  gulp  it  down  in  the  raw  state.  Without  making  any  comment 
on  regulations  that  protect  revenue  at  the  expense  of  morality;  those  laws  that 
set  the  interests,  and  the  very  personal  liberties  of  men  at  variance  with  their 
consciences,  and  without  inquiring  how  far  evasive  subterfuges  may  palliate  the 
conduct  of  the  ignorant  in  their  own  eyes,  or  in  the  sight  of  the  great  being  in- 
voked; it  is  suggested,  in  explanation,  that  popular  institutions  have  the  innate 
property  of  impressing  an  external  reverence  for  the  law,  on  the  worst  of  men. — 
Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  199 

He  had  resolved  on  exerting  his  power  to  suppress  fight- 
ing, swearing,  and  breach  of  the  Sabbath,  and  to  exact  the 
statutory  penalties  against  the  two  last  of  these  offences. 
On  a  Sabbath  soon  after  his  election,  a  man  carrying  a 
gun  and  a  wild  duck  passed  his  door.  He  intimated  his 
resolution  of  having  the  offender  brought  to  justice;  but 
the  culprit  gave  him  much  abusive  language,  with  pro- 
fane swearing,  and  threatened  to  beat  him  for  the  inter- 
ruption. The  squire  soon  perceived  that  he  was  losing  his 
popularity,  and  that  his  opposition  to  the  will  of  the 
sovereign  people  was  injuring  his  business,  and  for  that 
reason  resigned  his  commission.  In  cases  where  the 
squire  is  supposed  to  be  remiss  in  the  execution  of  his 
duty,  the  people  sometimes  interfere  extrajudicially.  At 
this  place,  a  tailor's  shop  was  lately  broke  into  by  night, 
and  a  quantity  of  goods  carried  away.  On  the  following 
day,  a  stranger  and  the  lost  property  were  discovered  in 
an  empty  house  adjoining.  He  was  instantly  carried  be- 
fore one  of  our  magistrates.  On  being  interrogated,  he 
confessed  being  found  in  the  house,  but  denied  having  any 
concern  with  the  booty.  The  squire  dismissed  him.  But 
the  young  men  of  the  town  who  had  assembled  to  hear  the 
examination,  were  too  sensible  of  the  strength  of  the  pre- 
sumptive circumstances  of  the  case,  and  of  the  admitted 
act  of  housebreaking,  in  entering  the  uninhabited  apart- 
ment, to  allow  him  to  escape  with  impunity.  They  caught 
him  at  the  door,  led  him  out  behind  the  town,  where  they 
tied  him  to  a  tree,  and  put  the  cowhide  into  the  hand  of  a 
furious  young  man,  who  happened  to  be  half  intoxicated. 
The  whipping  was  performed  with  such  vigour,  that  the 
blood  sprung  in  every  direction.  A  gentleman  of  [173] 
Cincinnati  told  me,  that,  a  few  years  ago,  the  citizens  of 
that  place  had  found  it  expedient  to  punish  in  the  most 


200  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

summary  way;  and  that  he  had  several  times  acted  as 
presiding  judge,  in  what  was  called  a  court  of  uncommon 
pleas.  Whipping  uniformly  followed  conviction.  Cin- 
cinnati has  now  outgrown  that  stage  of  population,  that 
admits  of  this  sort  of  jurisprudence,  and  is  better  regu- 
lated than  certain  large  European  cities. 

Sanguinary  punishments  are  almost  universally  depre- 
cated. The  best  of  citizens  are  opposed  to  them  from 
philanthropic  motives;  and  the  worst  view  them  as  sub- 
versive of  liberties.  A  considerable  proportion  of  the 
humane,  and  perhaps  most  of  the  vicious,  concur  in  argu- 
ing, that  man  has  no  right  to  take  away  the  life  of  man  in 
the  punishment  of  any  offence.  A  doctrine  purporting, 
in  plain  terms,  that  the  right  or  power  in  the  individual 
to  commit  crime,  is  stronger  than  that  in  society  to  punish 
or  to  protect.  Although  this  extremely  lenient  principle 
has  a  vast  multitude  of  supporters,  it  has  not  been  intro- 
duced into  the  criminal  code  of  any  state  in  the  Union. 
Treason,  murder,  arson,  and  piracy  committed  on  the  high 
seas,  remain  on  the  list  of  capital  crimes.  The  first  of 
these  offences  is  defined  by  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States,  as  consisting  "only  in  levying  war  against  them;  or 
in  adhering  to  their  enemies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort." 
No  infliction,  on  this  ground,  has  been  found  necessary 
since  the  epoch  of  the  Federal  Union.  Other  offences,  as 
forgery,  burglary,  robbery,  larceny,  &c.  being  treated  as 
inferior  misdemeanours,  the  machinery  of  the  executioner 
is  seldom  put  into  operation;  and  a  benevolent  peneten- 
tiary  system  is  adopted  in  parts  of  the  country  where  the 
population  is  sufficiently  great  to  bear  the  expense.  New 
[174]  settlements  cannot  afford  the  large  establishments 
combining  the  accommodation  for  solitary  confinement 
and  labour.    Whipping  is  therefore  resorted  to,  as  a  matter 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  201 

of  necessity  rather  than  of  choice.  It  is  chiefly  to  be  la- 
mented, that  chastisement  does  not  produce  immediate 
evidence  of  reformation,  as  the  sufferer  usually  removes 
to  another  part  of  the  country;  and  may  resume  the  char- 
acter of  gentleman,  even  while  his  back  is  raw  from  the 
recent  correction. 

It  is  with  painful  sensations  that  I  recollect  of  the  illib- 
eral and  ungenerous  reflections,  uttered  by  the  minions  of 
a  faction  in  your  country,  against  supposed  barbarism  in 
this.  Their  favourite  topics,  as  to  officers  in  the  Militia 
becoming  tavern-keepers,  and  tavern-keepers  acting  as 
Justices  of  the  Peace;  the  derided  punishment  of  whip- 
ping, and  the  equality  of  a  sovereign  people,  might  at 
least  be  mixed  with  some  allowances  for  local  circum- 
stances; or,  if  they  please,  in  making  a  contrast  with  the 
boasted  condition  of  Great  Britain,  it  is  obviously  un- 
candid  to  draw  the  subjects  of  their  animadversions  from 
the  fag  end  of  the  United  States,  in  the  very  act  of  being 
peopled  by  a  heterogeneous  mixture,  uniting  in  it  a  consid- 
erable proportion  of  the  most  uncultivated  of  Americans 
and  Europeans;  not  excluding  fugitives,  who  have  fled 
before  their  creditors,  and  the  public  prosecutors  of  Eng- 
land. Waving  this  consideration  altogether,  a  very  strik- 
ing comparison  may  be  made  out  in  detail.  The  officers  of 
the  United  States'  Militia  are  not  professional  soldiers,  but 
citizens.  They  are  not  disposable  tools,  to  be  employed 
in  foreign  aggressions,  or  removed  in  time  of  peace  from 
Maine  to  Georgia,  and  vice  versa,  to  intimidate  into  sub- 
mission fellow  citizens  who  are  not  their  personal  acquaint- 
ances or  immediate  [175]  kindred;  but  remain  at  home, 
where  they  attend  trainings,  voluntarily  and  gratuitously. 
They  are  at  liberty  to  follow  tavern-keeping,  or  any  other 
kind  of  honest  industry,  and  do  not  burden  their  country 


202  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

with  a  half  pay  list.  Justices  of  the  Peace,  however  un- 
qualified they  may  be,  and  whatever  disgrace  the  conduct 
of  individuals  brings  upon  themselves,  are  not  appointed 
by  the  influence  of  a  faction.  They  are  not  the  ' '  thorough 
paced"  ministerialists  who  "have  been  recruiting  officers 
for  the  war,  instead  of  Justices  of  the  Peace;"105  nor  are 
they  the  hirelings  who  promote  the  revenue  from  which 
their  own  pensions  are  drawn,  by  levying  ruinous  fines 
upon  an  unrepresented  people,  for  the  slightest  infractions 
on  excise  laws,  or  game  laws.  The  punishment  of  whip- 
ping has  been  already  mentioned,  with  the  causes  of  its 
being  adopted  in  the  back-woods.  Perhaps  it  might  be 
difficult  to  assign  reasons  equally  satisfactory  for  resorting 
to  it  in  the  populous  city  of  Dublin.  The  practice  is  com- 
paratively humane  in  America,  as  it  is  applied  in  cases 
that  would  be  punished  with  death  in  Great  Britain. 
The  States  of  Kentucky  and  Ohio  have  erected  peneten- 
tiaries,  not  for  the  purpose  of  punishment  alone,  but  also 
for  the  reformation  of  offenders.  The  horrible  prison 
scenes  witnessed  by  Howard,  Neild,  Bennet,  Buxton,  Fry, 
and  other  philanthropists  in  Britain,  have  no  counterpart 
in  America.106  We  know  of  no  examples  here  of  imprison- 
ment for  a  debt  of  a  shilling,107  or  for  a  supposed  fraud  of 

106  Walker's  Review  of  Political  Events,  p.  125.    London,  1794. —  Flint. 

101  This  succession  of  philanthropists,  whose  labors  extended  over  the  century 
from  1 750-1850,  worked  tirelessly  to  stir  up  English  public  sentiment  against 
their  criminal  code,  which  contained  over  two  hundred  and  nineteen  offenses 
punishable  by  death,  and  their  deplorable  system  of  prison  management.  Con- 
sequently early  English  travellers  were  particularly  interested  in  the  American 
system.  In  1831  a  Parliamentary  Commission  was  sent  to  investigate  the 
prisons  of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and  upon  its  return  certain  American 
methods  were  adopted. —  Ed. 

107  Evidence  of  Mr.  Law,  keeper  of  the  Borough  Compter,  before  the  Police 
Committee,  1814. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  203 

one  penny.108  Nor  have  I  ever  heard  of  the  verdict  of  an 
American  [176]  coroner's  inquest,  announcing  in  their 
verdict  the  death  of  a  prisoner  for  want  of  food.109  Debtors 
are  not  obliged  here,  to  sleep  edgeways,  for  want  of  the 
breadth  of  their  backs  on  a  prison  floor.110  Nor  has  any 
poor  boy  been  imprisoned  for  a  month  in  Bridewell  for 
selling  religious  tracts  without  a  hawker's  license.111  The 
equality  that  consists  in  universal  suffrage;  the  absence  of 
privileged  orders,  and  unrestrained  industry,  is  the  envi- 
able felicity  of  the  American  nation.  The  people  are, 
themselves,  the  lords  of  the  soil,  and  acknowledge  no  su- 
periors who  can  dictate  to  them  in  the  election  of  other 
representatives  than  those  of  the  community.  There  are 
no  boroughs  where  the  members  monopolize  the  business 
of  the  place,  or  who  chase  away  the  stranger  as  if  he  were 
an  enemy;  or  who  can  exact  town  taxes  contrary  to  the  will 
of  their  fellow  citizens.  Public  accounts  are  not  kept 
from  public  inspection.  There  is  no  separate  borough 
representation  to  be  hired  over,  or  owned  by  the  partisans 
of  a  ministry.  The  clergy  are  here  exalted  to  the  dignity 
of  citizens,  whose  interests  are  identified  with  those  of  the 
people.    Their  condition,  relatively  to  that  of  their  adhe- 

108  Inquiry  into  Prison  Discipline,  by  Thomas  Fowell  Buxton,  Esq.,  M.  P. — 
Flint. 

109  The  case  of  J.  Burdon  in  Tothilfields  prison  in  1817. —  Flint. 

110  In  February,  1818,  twenty  persons  confined  in  the  Borough  Compter,  slept 
in  a  space  twenty  feet  long  and  six  wide.  The  fact  was  confirmed  by  the  gov- 
ernor.—  Flint. 

111  G.  M.  a  boy  of  about  fourteen  years  of  age;  he  was  confined  along  with 
twenty  men  and  four  boys.  He  was  employed  by  one  of  them  to  pick  pockets, 
and  steal  from  the  other  prisoners.  Caught  a  fever  in  jail,  which  was  com- 
municated to  his  father,  mother,  and  three  brothers,  one  of  whom  died.  From 
being  a  sober,  orderly  boy,  he  was  changed  into  a  confirmed  thief,  and  stole  his 
mother's  Bible  and  his  brother's  clothes. —  Buxton's  Inquiry. —  Flint. 


204  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

rents,  is  in  every  respect  similar  to  the  situation  of  dissent- 
ing clergymen  in  Britain.  America  elevates  [177]  no 
spiritual  Lords,  on  wool-sacks,  in  her  senate,  to  oppose  the 
introduction  of  parochial  schools.  Nor  is  there  any  polit- 
ical body,  which  courts  an  alliance  with  the  clergy.  I 
have  never  heard  of  any  parson  who  acts  as  a  Justice  of 
the  Peace,  or  who  intermixes  his  addresses  to  the  Great 
Object  0}  religious  worship,  with  the  eulogy  of  the  Holy  Alli- 
ance. The  free  scope  given  to  industry  is  highly  con- 
ducive to  national  prosperity.  Every  man  is  allowed  to 
exert  his  talents,  in  the  pursuit  of  any  honest  scheme,  and 
in  any  part  of  the  country,  without  being  prevented  by 
intolerant  restrictions  or  internal  taxes.  His  profits  are 
his  own;  and  he  has  no  dread  of  their  being  wrested  from 
him  by  the  idle  drones  that  infest  other  countries.  Hence 
it  is,  that  the  United  States  abound  in  enterprizing  people, 
who  remove,  without  hesitation,  to  any  part  where  they 
can  suppose  any  advantage  may  arise,  and  adopt  projects 
that  would  neither  be  tolerated  nor  thought  of  by  people 
fettered  by  the  trammels  of  impolicy.  The  first  failure 
of  a  scheme  is  not  here  contemplated  as  finally  ruinous, 
as  a  backward  step  is  much  more  easily  retrieved  than  in 
countries  more  thickly  peopled,  and  where  the  avenues  of 
commerce  are  narrowed  by  artificial  obstructions.  There 
are  no  branches  of  manufactures  or  professions  of  any 
kind,  restricted  to  those  who  pay  licenses  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  farming  interest  has  no  monopoly  against  the 
manufacturing:  nor  has  the  manufacturing  any  positive 
prohibition  against  the  farmer.  Local  attachments  are 
much  weakened  by  the  open  prospects  of  an  extensive 
country,  by  the  abolition  of  primogenitureship,  and  by  the 
introduction  of  laws  that  promote  family  justice.  The 
citizen  is  not  bound  to  a  particular  spot  for  the  preserva- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  205 

tion  of  his  privileges;  for  he  can  enjoy  [178]  the  same  rights 
all  over  the  Union.  The  mechanic  and  the  labourer  do 
not  remain  unemployed  in  their  native  township,  to  estab- 
lish their  right  to  the  poor's  rates;  for  industry  is  not  taxed 
in  paying  bounties  to  idleness.  The  landholders  of  Eng- 
land may  quietly  enjoy  the  obeisances  of  their  pauper  de- 
pendents, and  pay  in  return  their  poor's  rates.  They  may 
be  assured,  that  the  more  equalized  citizens  of  America 
are  not  ambitious  of  this  interchange  of  benefits;  and  that 
the  excess  of  public  burdens  has  not  yet  rendered  it  cus- 
tomary for  Americans  to  desert  their  own  country,  and  to 
resort  to  France,  on  account  of  the  cheapness  of  provisions. 
The  present  state  of  North  America  affords  the  most 
conclusive  testimony  of  the  sound  policy  of  a  free  and  un- 
restricted trade.  The  United  States  allow  commerce  to 
regulate  itself,  according  to  its  own  interests,  except  in 
cases  where  the  conduct  of  other  nations  imposes  the  ne- 
cessity of  following  another  course.  Under  legislative 
forbearance  on  this  subject,  the  country  has  made  unex- 
ampled progress  in  improvements  and  population.  Under 
the  jealous  and  illiberal  government  of  Spain,  Florida 
remains  a  contemptible  province,  that  has  scarcely  a  name 
amongst  colonies.  Under  the  fostering  care  and  restric- 
tions of  England,  Canada  continues  to  be  but  a  mere  rem- 
nant of  this  great  continent. 

[179]  LETTER  XV 

Outline  of  the  American  Constitution  —  From  the  fre- 
quency of  Revolutions  in  Europe,  the  instability  of  the 
American  Republic  is  not  to  be  inferred. 

Jefjersonville,  (Indiana,)  Feb.  27,  1820. 
The  constitution  of  the  United  States  is  not  that  ephem- 
eral erection,  which    the    enemies  of    free    government 


206  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

would  represent  it  to  be.  Its  fundamental  principles  may 
be  partially  traced  through  the  modern  theoretical  max- 
ims, and  the  ancient  usages  of  England.  This  considera- 
tion, however,  does  not  derogate  from  the  wisdom  of  the 
founders  of  the  Republic,  who  have  so  successfully  availed 
themselves  of  the  experience  of  other  countries  and  other 
ages,  in  organizing  the  system;  and  maturing  it  by  the 
most  unremitting  diligence  through  peace  and  war.  A 
review  of  the  progress  of  American  politics,  and  of  the 
reasonings  which  guided  the  patriotic  legislators,  would  be 
a  work  of  much  interest.  It  would  lay  before  us  a  large 
portion  of  the  best  abilities,  and  the  most  tried  virtue  of 
the  country,  engaged  in  inquiries  conducive  to  the  general 
interests  of  the  nation.  It  would  disclose  at  every  im- 
portant crisis  a  venerable  assembly,  which  neither  an- 
nounced their  proceedings  as  the  greatest  efforts  of  human 
ingenuity,  nor  assumed  the  lofty  tone  of  an  '  *  omnipotent" 
legislature,  but  recurred  to  the  will  of  their  constituents  for 
ratification,  and,  keeping  a  view  to  the  future  as  well  as  to 
the  present  circumstances,  provided  the  [180]  means  of 
revising  and  amending  their  decisions.  It  was  in  conse- 
quence of  this  philosophical  mode  of  proceeding,  that  the 
present  admirable  fabric  was  gradually  erected.  It  was 
thus  that  the  declaration  of  independence  of  1776,  a 
temperate,  but  energetic  manifesto,  intimating  the  determi- 
nation of  the  colonies  to  throw  off  the  foreign  yoke,  was 
succeeded  by  the  articles  of  confederation  in  1778.  This 
compact,  although  efficient  in  time  of  public  danger,  was, 
during  the  succeeding  peace,  found  to  be  defective  in  not 
admitting  the  dignity  and  promptitude  necessary  to  the 
general  government,  and  not  furnishing  a  sufficient  guaran- 
tee for  the  permanence  of  the  Union.  Under  the  articles 
of  confederation,  each  State  retained  the  right  of  voting 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  207 

its  own  supplies  for  the  common  benefit,  and  to  lay  taxes 
on  such  articles  as  were  found  most  convenient;  also,  to 
impose  such  imposts  and  duties  on  foreign  trade  as  they 
thought  proper.  The  amount  of  supplies  furnished  by 
each  State  was  apportioned  to  the  value  of  the  lands, —  a 
criterion  that  could  never  be  applied  with  accuracy.  In 
this  state  of  things,  the  acts  of  Congress  could  in  various 
cases  be  only  complied  with,  through  the  intervention  of 
thirteen  separate  State  Assemblies.  The  power  given  to 
Congress  to  adjust  the  affairs  of  foreign  relations,  was  ren- 
dered almost  nugatory  by  the  diversity  of  commercial 
regulations  of  separate  States.  It  became  possible,  that 
a  separate  State  might  be  at  variance  with  a  foreign  nation, 
on  affairs  not  at  all  interesting  to  the  other  members  of  the 
Union,  and  that  internal  discord  might  arise  from  oppo- 
site interests,  rivalship  in  commerce,  the  distribution  of 
territory,  and  a  variety  of  other  latent  causes.112  To  avoid 
[181]  these  inconveniences  and  dangers,  the  constitution 
was  framed  by  a  convention  of  delegates  from  the  States, 
whose  session  ended  on  the  17th  of  September,  1787.  A 
Congress  was  elected  on  the  new  establishment,  and  Gen- 
eral Washington  was  unanimously  appointed  President 
in  the  succeeding  year.113 

113  Those  who  would  wish  to  have  a  collected  view  of  the  principles  of  this  sub- 
ject, may  consult  the  Federalist,  a  collection  of  interesting  essays  on  the  new 
constitution,  written  in  1788,  by  Messrs.  Hamilton,  Jay,  and  Madison. —  Flint. 

118  Some  pious  observers  of  the  occurrences  of  Providence,  have  remarked  that 
the  Spanish  Armada,  equipped  for  the  invasion  of  Britain,  was  destroyed  in  the 
year  1588;  that  the  Revolution  in  that  country  happened  in  1688;  and,  in  seeking 
for  an  event  to  mark  the  commencement  of  another  century,  it  has  been  observed 
by  the  loyal  in  Britain,  that  his  Majesty,  George  the  Third,  recovered  from  a 
most  deplorable  visitation  in  1788.  If  there  be  any  American  descendants  of 
Britain,  who  are  pleased  with  a  system  of  chronology  that  contemplates  the 
great  events  of  Providence  as  revolving  in  a  centenarian  orbit,  they  may  also 
notice  a  corresponding  occurrence  in  the  consummation  of  their  liberties  in 
the  otherwise  memorable  year  1788. —  Flint. 


208  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  constitution  vests  the  legislative  power  in  a  Con- 
gress, consisting  of  a  House  of  Representatives,  and  a 
Senate,  and  the  executive  power  in  the  President.  The 
members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  are  elected 
biennially  by  the  people.  Each  State  has  at  least  one  rep- 
resentative, and  not  more  than  one  for  every  thirty  thou- 
sand persons  in  it,  and  two  Senators,  who  are  elected  by 
the  State  legislature,  at  intervals  of  six  years,  and  are  dis- 
tributed into  three  classes,  so  that  the  seats  of  a  third  part 
of  them  are  vacated  biennially.  The  President,  and  Vice- 
President  are  elected  for  four  years  by  the  ballot  of  electors 
appointed  by  the  legislatures  of  the  States;  the  number  of 
electors  in  each  State  being  equal  to  that  of  the  represen- 
tatives and  senators,  whom  the  same  state  has  a  light  to 
send  to  Congress. 

Bills  for  raising  revenue  originate  in  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives;  and  every  bill  that  passes  both  [182]  houses, 
must  be  presented  to  the  President  for  his  approbation. 
In  the  event  of  his  disapproving  of  a  bill,  it  must  be  re- 
turned to  the  house  where  it  was  originated,  and  if  two- 
thirds  of  the  members  of  both  houses  agree,  on  re-consid- 
eration, to  pass  it,  then  the  bill  becomes  a  law.  The  Pres- 
ident is  commander-in-chief  of  the  army,  navy,  and  militia, 
and  may  in  certain  cases,  grant  reprieves  and  pardons  for 
offences  against  the  United  States.  With  the  concurrence 
of  two-thirds  of  the  Senate,  he  appoints  ambassadors,  and 
other  public  ministers,  consuls,  judges  of  the  supreme 
court,  and  all  other  officers  of  the  United  States,  whose 
appointments  are  not  provided  for  by  the  constitution; 
but  the  Congress  has  the  power  of  making  future  laws  for 
vesting  appointments  in  the  President  alone,  in  the  courts 
of  law,  or  in  the  heads  of  departments.  The  President 
may  fill  up  vacancies  in  the  Senate  during  recess,  by  grant- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  209 

ing  commissions  terminating  at  the  end  of  next  session. 
Whenever  two-thirds  of  both  houses  deem  it  necessary, 
they  shall  propose  amendments  of  the  constitution;  or 
shall  call  a  convention  for  that,  on  the  application  of  two- 
thirds  of  the  state  legislatures. 

The  duties  and  powers  of  the  general  government  are 
concisely  defined  by  the  constitution,  and  may  be  expressed 
summarily,  as  embracing  the  subjects  of  commerce,  finance, 
negociation,  and  war.  All  other  objects  are  reserved,  as 
falling  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  separate  state  assem- 
blies. These  include  local  legislation,  administration  of 
justice  between  persons  in  the  same  states,  and  the  super- 
vision of  agriculture. 

Although  it  appears,  that  much  care  has  been  bestowed 
in  drawing  the  line  that  separates  the  prerogatives  of  the 
general  government,  from  those  [183]  of  its  individual 
members,  still  duties  or  powers  derived  from  implication, 
are  occasionally  assumed  by  both  departments.  We  have 
two  recent  examples  in  view.  In  1819,  the  legislatures  of 
several  states  imposed  a  heavy  tax  on  the  branches  of  the 
United  States  Bank,  situated  in  the  respective  states.  The 
United  States  Bank,  it  must  be  noticed,  is  chartered  by 
Congress,  and  is  the  organ  through  which  the  national 
government  transacts  its  pecuniary  affairs.  The  bank 
refused  payment,  and  obtained  a  judgment  in  its  favour 
by  the  supreme  or  federal  court.114  Again,  the  admission 
of  the  territory  of  Missouri  as  a  State  in  the  Union,  has 
lately  been  discussed  in  Congress.  One  of  the  principal 
points  of  the  debate  was  the  question,  Whether  the  pre- 
existing States  have  a  right  to  dictate  to  States  about  to 

114  The  power  of  a  state  to  tax  the  United  States  Bank  was  settled  in  the  cele- 
brated case  of  McCulloch  versus  Maryland,  handed  down  March  6,  1819 
(4  Wheaton,  316).  Ohio  refused  to  be  bound  by  this  decision,  and  her  case  was 
decided  in  1824  (9  Wheaton,  738). —  Ed. 


2 1  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

be  admitted  into  the  Union,  any  restriction  against  slave- 
keeping?  And  it  is  understood  that  scruples  on  this 
question  of  right  have  induced  several  members  to 
vote  against  the  restriction,  whose  sentiments  are  opposed 
to  slavery. 

The  distribution  of  business,  of  which  a  brief  outline  has 
just  been  given,  is  admirably  adapted  to  an  extensive 
sphere  of  action.  The  national  councils  are  thus  devoted 
to  national  concerns,  and  not  to  such  petty  affairs  as  fram- 
ing public  acts  for  demolishing  the  fences  of  private  prop- 
erty to  make  room  for  highways,  nor  in  borough  politics, 
nor  in  deciding  in  the  disputes  of  private  individuals. 
Local  affairs  are  regulated  by  local  authorities,  who  are 
best  able  to  judge  of  them ;  and  this  prevents  any  ground 
of  complaint  to  arise  against  the  national  government  on 
account  of  these.  The  State  legislatures  are,  besides, 
filled  annually  by  a  free  vote  of  the  people,  who  have  fre- 
quent opportunities  of  allaying  their  own  discontents  by  a 
change  of  men,  and  a  change  of  measures. 

Those  who  predict  an  early  dissolution  of  the  [184] 
American  Union,  and  who  affirm  that  the  country  is  natur- 
ally divided  into  two  nations  by  the  Allegany  ridge,  might 
with  equal  propriety  say,  that  the  Thames  and  the  Severn 
are  destined  to  water  the  territories  of  two  distinct  govern- 
ments. And  the  remark  that,  in  the  event  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  being  interrupted  by  an  enemy,  the 
western  country  would  be  subjugated,  is  another  position 
that  may  be  applied  to  other  rivers,  and  to  other  countries. 
It  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that,  previously  to  the  cession  of 
Louisiana  in  1801,  the  Spanish  government  claimed  the 
exclusive  benefit  of  that  river,  and  that  the  privilege  of 
navigation  was  the  principal  object  that  induced  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  United  States  to  purchase  the  territory,  in 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  211 

1803.  Louisiana  being  acquired  at  the  general  expense, 
and  not  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  country  alone, 
makes  it  evident  that  the  transaction  was  viewed  as  an  im- 
portant national  affair.  Perhaps  it  was  with  the  inten- 
tion of  producing  a  dismemberment,  that  the  ministry  of 
England  made  the  attack  on  New  Orleans.  The  defence 
was  conducted  in  a  national  form,  and  not  exclusively  by 
the  people  of  the  western  country;  and  the  British  govern- 
ment was  not  gratified  by  any  overture  of  the  inhabitants 
for  becoming  tributary.  The  supposed  conspiracy  of 
Aaron  Burr,  for  detaching  the  transmontane  country  from 
the  Eastern  States,  was  not  found  to  amount  to  levying  war 
against  the  Union.115  The  evidence  that  could  be  ob- 
tained from  his  small  party  of  associates  and  others,  was  not 
sufficient  to  convict  him.  The  demagogue  is  not  looked  on 
as  a  personage  dangerous  to  public  tranquillity; — a  de- 
cisive proof  that  the  American  people  are  confident  in  the 
strength  of  the  ties  by  which  they  are  knit  together.  The 
western  settlements  have  the  strongest  incitements  to  re- 
main in  close  conjunction,  with  their  eastern  neighbours. 
[185]  A  separation  from  them  in  times  of  war  would  cut 
off  all  communication  by  land  with  the  eastern  coast;  an 
inconvenience  that  would  greatly  aggravate  any  attempt  to 
blockade  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  A  separation 
would  retard  the  ingress  of  population;  it  would  injure 
internal  trade;  it  would  occasion  an  additional  expense  in 
supporting  a  separate  government,  and  it  would  deprive 
them  of  the  protection  of  the  United  States'  Navy.  It  will 
scarcely  be  alleged,  that  the  Eastern  States  have  an  inter- 
est  in  dissolving  the  compact  with  the  Western;  as  by  that 

116  A  recent  contribution  to  the  history  of  the  Aaron  Burr  conspiracy,  drawn 
largely  from  material  in  the  Mexican  archives,  is  McCaleb's  Aaron  Burr  Con- 
spiracy (New  York,  1903).  Isaac  Jenkinson's  Aaron  Burr  (Richmond,  Indiana, 
1902),  throws  new  light  on  Burr's  relations  to  Hamilton  and  Jefferson. —  Ed 


212  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

step  they  would  not  only  forego  a  rapid  accumulation  of 
strength,  but  would  incur  the  danger  01  converting  fellow 
citizens  into  the  most  powerful  enemies.  They  would  lose 
that  important  branch  of  revenue,  which  arises  from  the 
sale  of  public  lands,  and  they  would  no  longer  participate 
in  the  fur  trade. 

To  infer  the  instability  of  the  American  republic  from 
the  frequency  of  revolutions  in  Europe,  is  altogether  pre- 
posterous. A  different  state  of  society,  and  the  difference 
of  the  political  institutions  to  be  compared,  remove  that 
parity  of  condition  essential  to  analogical  deduction.  The 
executive  power  in  America,  does  not  extend  to  declaring 
war  at  pleasure;  nor  to  dissolving  the  legislature.  The 
president,  whose  term  of  service  is  only  four  years,  has 
not  the  means  nor  the  motives  for  family  aggrandizement 
which  prevail  under  hereditary  succession.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives  have  their  seats  from 
the  universal  suffrage  of  the  people;  and  the  senators  get 
their  dignity  and  seats  from  the  representatives  in  State 
Assemblies,  who  are  themselves  popularly  elected,  and 
who  cannot  promote  obnoxious  men  without  incurring 
public  odium  and  future  exclusion.  The  representation  is 
equally  distributed.  Placemen  and  pensioners  [186]  are 
effectually  debarred  from  being  members  of  either  house; 
under  these  conditions  the  few  have  it  not  in  their  power 
to  dictate  to  the  many.  Ambitious  projects,  such  as  dis- 
figure the  histories  of  other  countries,  are  precluded.  Ac- 
cessions of  territory  are  not  obtained  by  conquest,  but  by 
purchase.  The  object  sought  in  these  treaties  is  the  right 
of  soil;  and  not  the  power  of  taxing  or  enslaving  men. 
No  yoke  is  imposed  but  that  upon  the  labouring  steer. 
The  domestic  policy  of  the  United  States  exhibits  twenty- 
four  republics,  each  having  its  own  constitution,  without 


1818-1820]       Flint V  Letters  from  America  213 

any  other  restriction  than  conformity  to  that  of  the  nation. 
In  regard  of  foreign  relations  and  general  interests,  all 
the  States  are  cemented  into  one  nation.  If  one  or  more 
States  are  invaded,  the  citizens  have  a  right  to  the  protec- 
tion of  the  Union ;  and  in  the  case  of  controversies  or  dis- 
putes between  States,  the  judicial  power  provided  under 
the  general  constitution  is  the  umpire  between  them. 
Had  the  individual  members  of  the  United  States  placed 
a  hereditary  sovereign  at  the  head  of  each,  and  put  the 
reins  of  government  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  we  might  have 
heard,  before  this  time,  of  American  courtiers  making 
treaties  to  last  forever;  and  violating  them  so  soon  as  the 
strong  found  it  convenient  to  attack  the  weak;  of  wars  fur- 
nishing pretexts  for  raising  vast  sums  to  support  the  views 
of  a  party  or  a  faction,  perhaps  for  depriving  the  people 
of  their  liberties,  and  subjugating  their  neighbours;  and 
of  winding  up  the  whole  with  holy  leagues,  admitting  of 
no  subsequent  arbitrator  but  the  sword. 

The  organization,  of  which  a  brief  outline  has  just  been 
given,  is,  in  theory,  well  adapted  to  insure  internal  tran- 
quillity, and  protection  against  invasion.  In  practice,  it 
has  hitherto  been  conducive  [187]  to  both  these  objects; 
and  to  a  degree  of  national  prosperity,  that  is  unparalleled 
in  the  present  age.  The  people  govern  for  themselves, 
and  are  too  sensible  of  the  value  of  their  rights  to  allow 
them  to  pass  into  other  hands.  Power  is  delegated  only 
for  a  short  period;  and  the  representatives  are  closely 
watched  by  their  constituents.  Should  a  congress  pro- 
pose to  disfranchise  a  part  of  the  people;  or  to  engraft 
a  borough  system  on  the  present  equal  representation;  or 
to  establish  septennial  elections;  every  member  voting  for 
the  obnoxious  motion  might  expect  to  be  marked  out  and 
expelled  for  ever.     A  case  somewhat  in  point  occurred  in 


214  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

1817.1"  Congress  then  passed  a  law  for  increasing  the 
very  moderate  compensation  for  the  services  of  members. 
The  act  was  conceived  to  be  unconstitutional:  an  alarm 
was  sounded  all  over  the  country;  the  supporters  of  in- 
creased compensation  were  left  out  in  the  election  of  181 8; 
and  the  offensive  law  was  repealed  in  the  ensuing  session. 
A  veneration  for  the  constitution  is  probably  the  most  uni- 
versal characteristic  of  American  citizens:  but  they  act,  as 
if  their  united  exertions  were  necessary  to  keep  it  in  force ; 
and  are  sensible,  that  neglect  on  their  part  might  soon 
render  the  important  document  a  dead  letter.  Every 
timely  check  given  to  the  progress  of  corruption,  is  remov- 
ing the  necessity  of  convulsion  to  a  later  date.  The  people 
having  the  means  of  correction  in  their  own  hands,  the 
political  institutions  of  this  country  are  to  be  esteemed  as 
less  mutable  than  the  systems  that  consist  entirely  of  the 
unmixed  ingredients  of  disease  and  death.  It  would  be 
too  sanguine  to  suppose  that  the  American  people  shall 
preserve  their  liberties  for  ever;  but  it  may  be  safe  to 
affirm,  that  nothing  decisive  in  the  fate  of  this  country  [188] 
is  to  be  augured  from  the  histories  of  republics  without 
representation,  or  of  monarchies  without  popular  con- 
trol. Before  Americans  relinquish  free  government,  they 
must  be  ignorant  of  their  present  knowledge;  they  must 
cease  to  teach  their  children  to  prize  their  privileges;  and 
no  longer  inculcate  esteem  for  the  memory  of  their  daunt- 
less ancestors,  who  fought  for  the  inheritance.  Washing- 
ton, Franklin,  and  an  host  of  other  patriots,  must  be  for- 

118  This  law  was  passed  in  March,  1816,  and  its  effect  was  felt  in  the  elections 
of  that  same  year.  From  Ohio,  Delaware,  and  Vermont  not  one  congressman 
was  re-elected;  in  Kentucky,  but  three  out  of  ten;  in  South  Carolina,  three  out 
of  nine;  in  Maryland,  four  out  of  nine;  and  in  Pennsylvania,  thirteen  out  of 
twenty-three.  Jefferson  wrote  to  Gallatin:  " There  has  never  been  an  instance 
before  of  so  unanimous  an  opinion  of  the  people,  and  that  through  every  state 
of  the  Union." — Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  215 

gotten.  The  avarice  of  foreign  governments,  and  the 
sufferings  of  foreign  people,  must  pass  into  oblivion,  and 
cease  to  be  monitors.  In  short,  a  dark  age  must  arrive 
before  the  throne  of  despotism  can  be  erected  here. 

LETTER  XVI 

State  Legislatures  —  A  predilection  for  dividing  Counties, 
laying  out  New  Towns  and  Roads  —  The  influence  of 
Slavery  on  the  habits  of  People  who  live  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Slave-Keeping  States  —  Elopements  from 
Kentucky  —  Banking. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,)  March  10,  1820. 
The  legislatures  of  new  States  consist  only  of  a  few  mem- 
bers. The  consequence  is,  that  public  acts  for  the  ex- 
clusive advantage  of  private  individuals  are  occasionally 
passed  through  influence  or  intrigue;  and  the  commenda- 
tions which  I  have  bestowed  on  the  general  government 
of  America  must  not  be  held  to  apply  indiscriminately  to 
the  administration  of  the  local  governments,  at  least  in 
newly  established  [189]  states.  Much  of  the  business  (it 
is  said)  is  privately  arranged,  before  the  questions  are  dis- 
cussed in  the  house.  Combinations  are  formed  for  effect- 
ing particular  purposes.  These  are  called  log  rolling;  a 
very  significant  metaphor,  borrowed  from  the  practice  of 
several  farmers  uniting  in  rolling  together  large  timber 
to  be  burnt.  A  number  of  bills  are  frequently  conjoined 
by  their  movers,  so  that  a  member  who  takes  a  deep  inter- 
est in  one  must  vote  for  all  of  them,  to  obtain  the  suffrage 
of  the  separate  partizans.  The  member  who  deserts 
from  the  cabal  might  be  leaving  his  own  motion  without 
any  other  supporter  but  himself.  An  enlightened  gentle- 
man told  me,  that  he  was  induced  to  vote  for  the  ridicu- 
lous law  of  this  State  regarding  intercourse  between  white 


2 1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

and  coloured  people,  in  consequence  of  its  being  previously 
conjoined  with  other  bills. 

The  laying  out  of  new  counties,  county  towns,  and  lines 
of  road,  seems  to  be  a  gratifying  duty  to  back-wood  legis- 
lators. Where  a  county  includes  a  considerable  tract  of 
country,  it  must  be  divided  into  two.  Where  it  is  not 
large  enough  to  admit  of  bisection,  the  county  wanted 
must  be  made  up  from  the  extremities  of  four  or  five  which 
are  contiguous.  A  large  population  is  not  a  prerequisite: 
yet  the  convenience  of  the  people  is  the  pretext.  A  few 
neighbours  who  propose  that  their  settlement  should  be 
made  the  nucleus  of  the  new  establishment,  petition  the 
Assembly  for  a  subdivision.  If  this  is  granted,  commis- 
sioners are  appointed  to  fix  the  new  seat  of  justice.  An 
eager  contest  for  private  advantage  ensues,  and  although 
the  ostensible  object  is  public  convenience,  the  new  city 
is  perhaps  placed  near  the  outline  of  its  jurisdiction. 

You  will  be  much  surprised  to  hear  of  the  avidity  which 
prevails  in  this  country  for  towns  consisting  of  a  very  few 
log  cabins.  For  a  convenient  [190]  distribution  of  seats 
of  justice,  and  for  roads  that  are  at  best  openings  cut 
through  the  woods,  with  the  stumps  remaining,  without 
side  ditches,  and  without  any  other  bridges  through 
marshes  or  streams,  than  a  few  pieces  of  timber  laid  down 
side  by  side  across  the  way.  But  an  explanation  is  made, 
when  you  are  told  that  pettifoggers  by  this  means  create 
situations  for  themselves,  and  a  few  of  their  constituents 
who  are  in  the  employment  of  squires,  county  commission- 
ers, prosecuting  attornies,  supervisors  of  roads,  and  con- 
stables. With  numbers  the  design  is  to  increase  the 
value  of  their  contiguous  lands  at  the  public  expense, 
instead  of  improving  them  by  their  own  industry.  By 
such  means,  they  frequently  succeed  in  selling  at  an  ad- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  217 

vance  of  fifty,  or  even  a  hundred  per  cent,  per  annum;  and 
remove  to  more  recent  settlements,  where  they  are  able  to 
purchase  a  larger  extent  of  land,  and  where  they  can  con- 
tinue their  favourite  trade  of  making  counties,  towns,  and 
roads. 

Towns  are  laid  out  by  persons  who  sell  lots  of  about  a 
fourth  or  a  fifth  part  of  an  acre:  these  sometimes  sell  at 
from  a  hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars,  even  in  situations 
where  scarcely  a  single  spot  of  the  neighbouring  woods  is 
cleared.  After  a  town  has  made  some  progress  in  point  of 
improvement  and  population,  lots  usually  rise  in  price, 
from  three  hundred  to  a  thousand  dollars;  and,  in  the 
larger  towns,  to  a  much  higher  value.  At  present  the 
mania  of  purchasing  town  lots  is  rather  declining.  Hold- 
ers are  unwilling  to  see  the  prices  reduced.  They  con- 
tinue to  talk  of  former  rates,  and  to  keep  them  up;  on 
exchanging  one  lot  for  two,  say,  that  for  the  better  one, 
one  thousand  dollars  is  paid  in  two  lots  worth  five  hundred 
each.  Their  conduct  very  much  resembles  that  of  a  per- 
son who  said,  that  he  sold  a  dog  at  forty  guineas,  and 
explained  the  transaction  by  stating,  [191]  "that  he  was 
paid  in  two  dogs,  each  worth  half  that  sum."  I  lately 
saw  a  town  lot  sold  for  state  or  county  taxes,  at  a  fourth 
part  of  the  price  paid  for  it  two  years  ago.  The  rents  of 
the  worst  kind  of  houses  amount  to  upwards  of  fifty  per 
cent,  per  annum,  on  the  price  of  erection.  A  miserable 
cabin,  that  could  scarcely  be  let  at  all  in  your  country, 
or  would  not  rent  at  £1  10s.  a-year,  gives  here  as  much  per 
month.  The  people  are  of  consequence  closely  crowded 
together;  several  families  frequently  inhabiting  a  house  of 
one  apartment,  without  any  inner  door,  so  that  when  the 
street  door  is  open,  passengers  may  see  the  inmates  at 
table,  and  the  other  particulars  of  the  house.     The  beds 


2 1 8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

are  ranged  round  the  walls,  like  so  many  looms  in  a 
weaver's  work-shop.  In  various  instances  I  have  seen 
families  living  in  temporary  huts,  built  of  small  pieces  of 
decayed  timber  collected  in  the  woods,  laid  upon  one 
another  in  the  manner  in  which  sawyers  erect  piles  of 
timber  to  be  dried.  The  roofs  were  covered  with  bark, 
and  the  interstices  of  the  walls  left  open,  so  that  at  a  dis- 
tance I  could  count  the  persons  within,  as  if  they  had  been 
birds  in  a  cage.  Near  to  this  place  a  family  lately  lived, 
for  several  weeks,  under  an  old  waggon  that  was  turned 
upside  down.  In  towns  along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  a 
class  of  people  are  to  be  seen,  who  depend  on  traffic  with 
travellers,  and  with  the  scanty  population  in  the  rear  of 
them.  Without  extravagant  profits  on  the  trifling  capital 
employed,  they  could  not  subsist.  Many  of  them  seem 
to  be  immoral,  dissipated,  and  without  rural  or  domestic 
industry.  Few  of  their  lots  are  cultivated  as  gardens; 
and  the  spinning-wheel,  (so  far  as  I  have  observed,)  is 
not  to  be  seen  in  their  houses. 

The  evils  of  slave-keeping  are  not  confined  to  the  parts 
of  the  country  where  involuntary  labour  [192]  exists,  but 
the  neighbourhood  is  infected.  Certain  kinds  of  labour 
are  despised  as  being  the  work  of  slaves.  Shoe-blacking, 
and,  in  some  instances,  family  manufactures,  are  of  this 
class  of  labours;  and  it  is  thus,  that  in  some  of  the  small 
towns  on  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio,  the  mechanic  and  the 
labourer  are  to  be  seen  drawing  water  at  the  wells;  their 
wives  and  daughters  not  condescending  to  services  that 
are  looked  upon  to  be  opprobrious.  It  was  for  the  same 
reason,  that  on  one  occasion,  some  paupers  in  a  poor's 
house  at  Cincinnati  refused  to  carry  water  for  their  own 
use. 

Elopements  from  Kentucky  into  Indiana  are  frequent. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  219 

Since  my  arrival  in  this  very  town,  I  have  witnessed  two 
examples.  I  do  not  now  allude  to  slave-keepers  losing 
their  negroes,  but  their  white  daughters,  who  escape  to  get 
married.  In  a  former  letter  I  mentioned  the  watchfulness 
of  parents  over  young  ladies  in  Kentucky,  and  would  only 
add,  that  there,  as  elsewhere,  restraint  does  not  seem  to  be 
conducive  to  contentment.  Those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  state  of  society  in  Turkey,  are  perhaps  the  most 
able  to  give  a  decided  opinion  on  this  very  interesting 
subject. 

Of  upwards  of  a  hundred  banks  that  lately  figured  in 
Indiana,  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and  Tennessee,  the  money  of 
two  is  now  only  received  in  the  land-office,  in  payment  for 
public  lands.  Many  have  perished,  and  the  remainder 
are  struggling  for  existence.  Still  giving  for  their  rags 
"bills  as  good  as  their  own*"  but,  except  two,  none  pay  in 
specie,  or  bills  of  the  United  States  Bank.  Discount  varies 
from  thirty  to  one  hundred  per  cent. 

The  recent  history  of  banking  in  these  western  States, 
is  probably  unrivalled.  Such  a  system  of  knavery  could 
only  be  developed  in  a  country  where  avarice  and  cre- 
dulity are  prominent  features  [193]  tff  character.  About 
four  years  ago,  the  passion  for  acquiring  unearned  gains 
rose  to  a  great  height;  banking  institutions  were  created 
in  abundance.  The  designing  amongst  lawyers,  doctors, 
tavern-keepers,  farmers,  grocers,  shoemakers,  tailors,  &c. 
entered  into  the  project,  and  subscribed  for  stock.  Small 
moieties  must  actually  have  been  advanced  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  engraving,  and  other  incidents  necessary  to 
putting  their  schemes  in  operation.  To  deposit  much 
capital  was  out  of  their  power;  nor  was  it  any  part  of  their 
plan.  Their  main  object  was  to  extract  it  from  the  com- 
munity.   A    common   provision  in  charters,   stipulated, 


220  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

that  the  property  of  each  partner  was  not  liable,  in  security, 
to  a  greater  amount  than  the  sum  he  had  subscribed.  This 
exempted  the  banks  from  the  natural  inconveniences  that 
might  be  occasioned  by  the  insolvencies  and  elopements 
of  members.  Money  was  accumulated  in  great  abun- 
dance, as  they  bought  property;  lent  on  security;  and  be- 
came rich.  But  their  credit  was  of  short  duration.  When 
it  was  found,  that  a  few  of  them  could  not  redeem  their 
bills,  the  faith  of  the  people  was  shaken.  A  run  on  the 
paper  shops  commenced;  and  a  suspension  of  specie  pay- 
ments soon  became  general.  Had  the  people  been  at 
liberty  to  recover  a  composition,  as  in  the  bankrupt  con- 
cerns of  Britain,  the  evil  might  have,  in  some  measure, 
been  remedied  before  this  time;  but  chartered  privileges 
granted  by  legislators  concerned  in  the  fraud,  prevented 
legal  recourse.  Even  these  could  not  have  been  sufficient 
protection,  but  for  the  co-operation  of  subsequent  laws 
dictated  by  the  same  interest.  The  state  of  Indiana,  for 
example,  passed  in  181 8,  what  was  called  "  the  replevy 
law,"  liberating  the  debtor  for  a  year  from  the  claim  of 
the  creditor,  who  refuses  to  accept  depreciated  money. 
This  [194]  law,  though  sufficiently  injurious  to  creditors, 
could  give  no  stability  to  swindling  banks.  It  was,  there- 
fore, succeeded  by  an  act  during  last  session,  prohibiting 
landed  property  to  be  sold  by  execution,  under  two-thirds 
of  the  appraised  value,  and  that  to  be  ascertained  by  five 
freeholders.  The  debtor  is  by  the  same  act  allowed  to  set 
apart  any  portion  of  his  property  he  chooses,  to  discharge 
execution.  Freeholders,  it  may  be  observed,  are  a  class 
of  men  naturally  adverse  to  depreciating  their  own  land, 
by  setting  a  low  value  on  that  of  their  neighbours.  This 
disposition  is  the  more  dangerous  at  present,  especially 
when  lands  are  falling  considerably  in  price,  in  conse- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  221 

quence  of  the  depreciation  of  the  money  which  lately 
stamped  such  a  high  value  on  property.  In  Kentucky,  a 
total  suspension  of  law  process  for  sixty  days,  was  followed 
by  a  "replevy  law."  In  the  State  of  Ohio,  enactments 
similar  to  those  of  Indiana  were  passed.  Here  is  a  combi- 
nation of  laws  for  the  protection  of  knaves,  who  have 
swindled  the  people.117  Those  who  have  either  bought 
property  on  credit,  or  borrowed  money,  while  rags  passed 
at  a  high  price,  have  got  debts  of  a  great  amount  to  pay, 
while  property  can  no  longer  be  sold  at  former  prices. 
Debtors  of  this  description  have  united  with  bankers,  in 
getting  the  infamous  laws  passed  just  noticed.  While  the 
property  law  was  pending  in  the  Assembly  of  Indiana, 
debtors  were  in  full  activity  sending  forward  petitions  in 
favour  of  the  impolicy,  and  persuading  the  ignorant  of 
the  propriety  of  the  measure.  In  the  small  town  of  Jeffer- 
sonville,  two  petitions  were  made.  These  unnatural  ex- 
pedients, however,  cannot  long  serve  the  purpose  intended. 
Land  continues  to  fall.  The  debtor  may,  for  a  short  time, 
be  kept  out  of  jail,  and  the  peculator  from  being  stripped 
of  his  ill-gotten  gains;  but  the  public  is  [195]  receiving 
dearly  bought  instructions,  and  must  set  a  watch  over 
future  elections. 

Although  the  relations  of  debtor  and  creditor  are  equal 
in  the  amount  of  property  involved  in  their  transactions; 
and  although  the  obligations  imposed  by  contracts  natur- 
ally render  creditors  the  more  powerful  class  in  civilized 

UT  This  practically  stopped  execution  sales,  as  the  freeholders  appraised  prop- 
erty so  high  that  no  bidder  would  offer  two-thirds  of  the  appraised  value.  Flint 
regards  the  replevin  laws  as  a  protection  to  knaves;  as  a  matter  of  fact,  they  were 
a  protection  to  the  majority  of  the  people  of  the  Western  States,  who  had  bought 
their  lands  on  credit,  and  in  the  depreciated  state  of  paper  money  found  them- 
selves helpless  to  pay,  and  their  land  about  to  be  sold  at  a  great  sacrifice.  See 
McMaster,  History  of  the  United  States,  iv,  pp.  506-510. —  Ed. 


222  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

society,  the  recent  proceedings  of  legislatures  in  this  west- 
ern country,  would  lead  us  to  believe,  that  a  majority  in 
numbers  or  artifice,  or  perhaps  in  both,  stands  on  the 
debtor  side  of  the  ledger.  Republicans  are  not  to  be 
whipped  like  slaves,  nor  openly  and  directly  taxed  to  such 
extent  as  Europeans  are,  but  they  may  be  deluded.  Men 
of  their  own  electing  have  practised  upon  them  with  suc- 
cess, and  the  emoluments  to  be  gained  in  this  way,  are 
apparently  the  great  stimulus  that  prompts  men  to  intrude 
themselves  into  State  governments.  No  rational  mind 
can  discover  profit  enough  in  two  dollars  per  day;  or  patri- 
otism enough  in  cheating  their  constituents;  or  popularity 
enough  in  eloquence  that  few  can  hear,  and  none  can  ever 
see  in  print,  to  collect  talent  and  integrity  in  council. 

At  first  sight,  it  would  appear  to  be  a  paradox,  that  any 
individual  State  can  be  allowed  to  grant  charters  to  banks, 
or  to  frame  laws  that  protect  pecuniary  fraud,  while  a 
section  of  the  constitution  of  the  United  States  prohibits 
such  procedure  by  the  following  words: — "No  state  shall 
coin  money;  emit  bills  of  credit;  make  any  thing  but  gold 
and  silver  coin  a  tender  in  paying  of  debts;  pass  any  ex- 
post  facto  law;  or  law  impairing  the  obligation  of  con- 
tracts." The  western  States  cannot  avoid  being  brought 
to  issue  with  the  above  very  distinct  clauses,  as  every  char- 
ter granted  by  them,  is  an  act  tolerating  the  substitution 
of  paper,  instead  of  gold  and  silver;  and  their  replevy 
laws,  and  property  [196]  laws,  are  in  reality,  making  paper 
a  legal  tender.  Besides,  several  establishments  are  char- 
tered under  the  appellations  of  State  Banks;  and  that 
in  Kentucky,  for  example,  consists  partly  of  stock  owned 
by  the  State.  The  conduct  of  Congress  is  not  marked  by 
any  known  act  of  partiality  towards  the  makers  of  uncon- 
stitutional money.  On  the  contrary,  the  collectors  of  the 
United  States*  revenue  are  not  allowed  to  accept  of  depre- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  223 

ciated  bills.  Their  receiving  the  money  of  inferior  banks 
while  at  par,  though  apparently  countenancing  them,  has 
been,  in  effect,  the  best  means  hitherto  adopted  for  effect- 
ing their  ruin.  The  receivers  of  revenue  lodge  the  money 
received  in  the  United  States'  Bank,  whose  officers  almost 
immediately  present  the  money  to  the  Banks  that  issued 
it,  and  demand  payment  in  specie,  or  bills  of  the  United 
States'  Bank.  It  has  been  in  this  way  that  many  of  the 
paper  manufacturers  were  obliged  to  suspend  specie  pay- 
ments; and  it  was  partly  on  account  of  this  mode  of  oper- 
ating on  local  banks,  that  several  State  Assemblies  voted 
an  enormous  tax  to  be  levied  on  the  branches  of  the 
United  States'  Bank  situated  in  the  respective  States. — 
That  tax  was  mentioned  in  a  former  letter,  with  a  notice 
that  the  supreme  court  had  given  judgment  in  favour  of 
the  National  Bank;  and  the  reasonings  on  which  the  de- 
cision was  founded,  were  published  in  a  most  luminous 
style.  The  supreme  court  being  the  arbitrator  in  all 
questions  rising  out  of  the  constitution,  Congress  have  the 
power  of  making  the  United  States  a  party  in  defending 
against  encroachments  in  the  prerogative  of  the  general 
government.  In  the  present  banking  concern,  they  pru- 
dently decline  interference,  seeing  that  experience  will 
soon  open  the  eyes  of  a  people  who  can,  at  any  time,  coun- 
teract the  [197]  abuse  by  excluding  bankers,  and  their 
adherents,  from  State  legislatures.  On  this  occasion, 
there  can  be  no  necessity  for  forcing  the  interests  of  the 
people  down  their  throats,  nor  can  there  be  any  danger 
that  this  infraction  of  the  constitution  will  be  perpetuated. 
That  the  present  disorders  in  banking  are  not  extended 
over  the  whole  of  the  United  States  is  manifested  by  the 
tables  of 'exchange  periodically  published  at  New  York. 
These  show  that  the  depressions  of  money  are  chiefly  con- 
fined to  the  western  country,  where  the  substantial  capital 


224  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

is  small,  and  where,  (there  is  reason  to  believe,)  a  large 
proportion  of  the  people  are  less  acute. 

The  error  committed  in  the  Western  States,  is  not  in 
consequence  of  any  defect  exclusively  inherent  in  the  dem- 
ocratic system  of  government;  as  the  fraud  is  neither  ma- 
tured nor  confirmed  in  the  older  States,  and  as  England 
suffers  under  an  evil  of  the  same  kind,  and  apparently 
in  a  more  dangerous  form.  Her  restriction  act  of  1797, 
is  not  understood  to  be  opposed  by  any  recognized  con- 
stitutional principle.  It  emanated  from  the  highest 
authority  in  the  land.  It  is  not  yet  repealed,  and  twenty- 
four  bank-directors  still  have  it  in  their  power  to  regulate 
the  money  value  of  all  the  property  in  the  empire.118 

Amidst  all  the  pecuniary  inconveniences  of  this  country, 
the  personal  liberty  of  men  is  not  in  danger  of  being 
assailed  by  the  hand  of  constituted  authority.  May  the 
time  soon  come,  when  the  people  shall  have  understand- 
ing enough  to  take  care  of  their  property. 


[198]  LETTER  XVII 

Depreciated  Paper  Money  —  Stagnation  in  Trade  —  Pro- 
duce cheap  —  Labourers  and  Mechanics  in  want  of  Em- 
ployment —  The  Poor  and  Poor's  Rates  —  Appropria- 
tions for  the  Expenses  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  for  the 
year  1820  —  Objects  and  Rates  of  Taxation  —  County 

I  Taxes  —  A  rude  style  of  Improvement  —  The  progress 
of  New  Settlements  —  Lands  about  to  be  Forfeited  to 
the  Government  for  non-payment  of  the  price. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,)  May  4,  1820. 
The  accounts  given  in  my  last  letter  of  the  depredations 
committed  by  bankers,  will  make  you  suppose  that  affairs 

118  Essay  on  the  Justice  and  Expediency  of  Reducing  the  Interest  of  the 
National  Debt.     By  Mr.  J.  R.  McCulloch.     Edinburgh,  1816.—  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  225 

are  much  deranged  here.  Bankruptcy  is  now  a  sin  pro- 
hibited by  law.  In  the  Eastern  States,  and  in  Europe, 
our  condition  must  be  viewed  as  universal  insolvency. 
Who,  it  may  be  asked,  would  give  credit  to  a  people  whose 
laws  tolerate  the  violation  of  contracts?  Mutual  credit 
and  confidence  are  almost  torn  up  by  the  roots.  It  is  said 
that  in  China,  knaves  are  openly  commended  in  courts  of 
law  for  the  adroitness  of  their  management.  In  the  in- 
terior of  the  United  States,  law  has  removed  the  necessity 
of  being  either  acute  or  honest. 

The  money  in  circulation  is  puzzling  to  traders,  and 
more  particularly  to  strangers;  for  besides  the  multiplicity 
of  banks,  and  the  diversity  in  supposed  value,  fluctuations 
are  so  frequent,  and  so  great,  that  no  man  who  holds  it  in 
his  possession  can  be  safe  [199]  for  a  day.  The  merchant, 
when  asked  the  price  of  an  article,  instead  of  making  a 
direct  answer,  usually  puts  the  question,  l '  What  sort  of 
money  have  you  got  ?"  Supposing  that  a  number  of  bills 
are  shown,  and  one  or  more  are  accepted  of,  it  is  not  till 
then,  that  the  price  of  the  goods  is  declared ;  and  an  addi- 
tional price  is  uniformly  laid  on,  to  compensate  for  the 
supposed  defect  in  the  quality  of  the  money.  Trade  is 
stagnated  —  produce  cheap  —  and  merchants  find  it  diffi- 
cult to  lay  in  assortments  of  foreign  manufactures.  I 
have  lately  heard,  that  if  a  lady  purchases  a  dress  in  the 
city  of  Cincinnati,  she  has  to  call  at  almost  all  the  shops 
in  town,  before  she  can  procure  trimmings  of  the  suitable 
colours.  It  is  only  about  three  years  ago,  that  an  English 
traveller119  asserted,  that  in  Cincinnati  "English  goods 

119  Fearon. —  Flint. 

Comment  by  Ed.  Henry  Bradshaw  Fearon,  a  London  surgeon  born  about 
1770,  was  sent  to  the  United  States  by  an  association  of  English  families  to  in- 
vestigate suitable  sites  for  their  residence.  He  found  little  that  pleased  him,  as 
appears  from  his  account,  Sketches  in  America  (London,  1818). 


226  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

abound  in  as  great  profusion  as  in  Cheapside" —  Mer- 
chants in  Cincinnati,  as  elsewhere,  have  got  into  debt, 
by  buying  property,  or  by  building  houses,  but  are  now 
secure  in  the  possession.  Such  people,  notwithstanding 
complain  of  the  badness  of  the  times,  finding  that  the  trade 
of  buying  without  paying  cannot  be  continued.  Those 
who  have  not  already  secured  an  independence  for  life, 
may  soon  be  willing  to  have  trade  and  fair  dealing  as 
formerly.  Property  laws  deprive  creditors  of  the  debts 
now  due  to  them;  but  they  cannot  force  them  to  give  credit 
as  they  were  wont  to  do. 

Agriculture  languishes  —  farmers  cannot  find  profit  in 
hiring  labourers.  The  increase  of  produce  in  the  United 
States  is  greater  than  any  increase  of  consumpt  that  may 
be  pointed  out  elsewhere.  To  increase  the  quantity  of 
provisions,  then,  without  enlarging  the  numbers  of  those 
who  eat  them,  will  be  only  diminishing  the  price  farther. 
[200]  Land  in  these  circumstances  can  be  of  no  value  to 
the  capitalist  who  would  employ  his  funds  in  farming.  The 
spare  capital  of  farmers  is  here  chiefly  laid  out  in  the  pur- 
chase of  lands. 

Labourers  and  mechanics  are  in  want  of  employment. 
I  think  that  I  have  seen  upwards  of  1500  men  in  quest  of 
work  within  eleven  months  past,  and  many  of  these  de- 
clared, that  they  had  no  money.  Newspapers  and  private 
letters  agree  in  stating,  that  wages  are  so  low  as  eighteen 
and  three-fourth  cents  (about  ten-pence)  per  day,  with 
board,  at  Philadelphia,  and  some  other  places.  Great 
numbers  of  strangers  lately  camped  in  the  open  field  near 
Baltimore,  depending  on  the  contributions  of  the  charitable 
for  subsistence.  You  have  no  doubt  heard  of  emigrants 
returning  to  Europe  without  finding  the  prospect  of  a 
livelihood  in  America.     Some  who  have  come  out  to  this 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  227 

part  of  the  country  do  not  succeed  well.  Labourers' 
wages  are  at  present  a  dollar  and  an  eighth  part  per  day. 
Board  costs  them  two  three-fourths  or  three  dollars  per 
week,  and  washing  three-fourths  of  a  dollar  for  a  dozen 
of  pieces.  On  these  terms,  it  is  plain  that  they  cannot 
live  two  days  by  the  labour  of  one,  with  the  other  deduc- 
tions which  are  to  be  taken  from  their  wages.  Clothing, 
for  example,  will  cost  about  three  times  its  price  in  Britain : 
and  the  poor  labourer  is  almost  certain  of  being  paid  in 
depreciated  money;  perhaps  from  thirty  to  fifty  per  cent, 
under  par.  I  have  seen  several  men  turned  out  of  board- 
ing houses,  where  their  money  would  not  be  taken.  They 
had  no  other  resource  left  but  to  lodge  in  the  woods,  with- 
out any  covering  except  their  clothes.  They  set  fire  to 
a  decayed  log,  spread  some  boards  alongside  of  it  for  a 
bed,  laid  a  block  of  timber  across  for  a  pillow,  and  pur- 
sued their  labour  by  day  as  [201]  usual.  A  still  greater 
misfortune  than  being  paid  with  bad  money  is  to  be 
guarded  against,  namely,  that  of  not  being  paid  at  all. 
Public  improvements  are  frequently  executed  by  sub- 
scription, and  subscribers  do  not  in  every  case  consider 
themselves  dishonoured  by  non-payment  of  the  sum  they 
engage  for.  I  could  point  out  an  interesting  work,  where 
a  tenth  part  of  the  amount  on  the  subscription  book 
cannot  now  be  realized.  The  treasurer  of  a  company  so 
circumstanced,  has  only  to  tell  undertakers  or  labourers, 
that  he  cannot  pay  them.  I  have  heard  of  a  treasurer 
who  applied  the  funds  entrusted  to  him  to  his  own  use, 
and  who  refused  to  give  any  satisfaction  for  his  conduct. 
It  is  understood  that  persons  who  are  agents  for  others, 
frequently  exchange  the  money  put  into  their  hands  for 
worse  bills,  and  reserve  the  premium  obtained  for  them- 
selves.   Employers  are  also  in  the  habit  of  deceiving  their 


228  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

workmen,  by  telling  them  that  it  is  not  convenient  to  pay 
wages  in  money,  and  that  they  run  accounts  with  the 
storekeeper,  the  tailor,  and  the  shoemaker,  and  that  from 
them  they  may  have  all  the  necessaries  they  want  very 
cheap.  The  workman  who  consents  to  this  mode  of  pay- 
ment, procures  orders  from  the  employer,  on  one  or  more 
of  these  citizens,  and  is  charged  a  higher  price  for  the 
goods  than  the  employer  actually  pays  for  them.  This  is 
called  paying  in  trade. 

You  have  often  heard  that  extreme  poverty  does  not 
exist  in  the  United  States.  For  some  time  after  my 
arrival  in  the  country  supposed  to  be  exempt  from  abject 
misery,  I  never  heard  the  term  poor,  (a  word,  by  the  by, 
not  often  used,)  without  imagining  that  it  applied  to  a 
class  in  moderate  circumstances,  who  had  it  not  in  their 
power  to  live  in  [202]  fine  houses,  indulge  in  foreign  lux- 
uries, and  wear  expensive  clothing;  and  on  seeing  a  per- 
son whose  external  appearance  would  have  denoted  a 
beggar  in  Britain,  I  concluded  that  the  unfortunate  must 
have  been  improvident  or  dissipated,  or  perhaps  possessed 
of  both  of  these  qualities.  My  conjectures  may  have  on 
two  or  three  occasions  been  just,  as  people  of  a  depressed 
appearance  are  very  rarely  to  be  seen,  but  I  now  see  the 
propriety  of  divesting  myself  of  such  a  hasty  and  ungen- 
erous opinion.  Last  winter  a  Cincinnati  newspaper 
advertised  a  place  where  old  clothes  were  received  for  the 
poor,  and  another  where  cast  shoes  were  collected  for 
children  who  could  not,  for  want  of  them,  attend  Sunday 
schools.  The  charitable  measure  of  supplying  the  poor 
with  public  meals,  has  lately  been  resorted  to  at  Balti- 
more ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that  most  of  the  peo- 
ple who  are  relieved  in  this  way,  are  Europeans  recently 
come  into  America.     In  the  western  country,  poor  rates 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  229 

are  raised  in  the  form  of  a  county  tax.  They  are,  how- 
ever, so  moderate  as  to  be  scarcely  felt.  Contracts  for 
boarding  the  permanently  poor  are  advertised,  and  let  to 
the  lowest  bidder,  who  has  a  right  to  employ  the  pauper 
in  any  light  work  suited  to  the  age  or  ability  of  the  object 
of  charity.  They  are  said  to  be  well  treated.  This  sort 
of  public  exposure  must  create  a  repugnance  against 
becoming  a  pauper.  In  the  Eastern  States,  work  houses 
are  established.  It  is  to  be  wished  that  those  who  follow 
this  plan  will  not  lose  sight  of  the  example  of  England. 
The  operations  of  bankers,  and  the  recent  decline  in  trade, 
have  been  effective  causes  of  poverty;  and  it  seems  prob- 
able that  the  introduction  of  manufacturing  industry,  and 
a  reduction  of  base  paper,  would  soon  give  effectual  relief. 
[203]  It  is  not  from  the  number  of  benevolent  institu- 
tions, nor  from  the  low  condition  of  some  families,  nor 
from  the  insolvency  of  individuals,  that  I  draw  the  con- 
clusion that  poverty  prevails  to  a  greater  extent  than  I  at 
first  imagined.  The  appropriations  for  defraying  the 
expenses  of  the  State,  together  with  the  ways  and  means, 
and  the  deficiencies  in  payments,  are  highly  illustrative. 
I  shall  transcribe  two  documents. 

An  act  for  making  appropriations  for  the  year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  twenty. 

Approved  January  22,  1820. 
Sec.  I.  Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  0}  the  State  of 
Indiana,  That  the  following  sums  be,  and  they  are  hereby  appro- 
priated for  the  following  purposes;  to  wit,  for  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  present  General  Assembly,  including  pay  to  the  members 
thereof,  secretaries,  clerks,  door-keepers,  sergeants  at  arms,  station- 
ary, ink,  ink-stands,  fuel,  printing,  binding,  and  distributing  the 
laws  and  journals,  making  marginal  notes  and  indices  to  the  same, 
together  with  all  other  just  and  necessary  expenses,  the  sum  of  eight 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars. 


230                    Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

Dollars 

For  the  executive  department, 2200 

For  the  judiciary  department, 4900 

For  the  interest  on  the  public  debt,           ....  3000 

For  defraying  the  contingent  expenses  of  the  government, 

for  the  year  1820,       .......  800 

For  the  military  department,  including  the  salary  of  the 

adjutant-general, 400 

For  defraying  the  premiums  on  wolf  scalps  unsatisfied,         .  500 
For  defraying  warrants  not  yet  presented  in  the  judiciary  de- 
partment,             875 


12675 


To  make  up  the  deficiency  between  the  above  expenses 
and  the  sum  appropriated,  a  separate  act  authorizes  the 
governor  to  borrow  four  thousand  [204]  dollars  on  the 
credit  of  the  State.  The  following  extract  from  an  act, 
shows  the  sources  of  revenue. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Indiana, 
That  there  shall  be  levied  a  tax  for  State  purposes,  on  the  following 
objects  of  taxation,  and  after  the  following  rates,  to  wit,  For  every 
hundred  acres  of  first  rate  land  subject  to  taxation,  the  sum  of  one 
dollar.  On  every  hundred  acres  of  second  rate  land,  the  sum  of 
eighty-seven  and  a  half  cents.  On  every  hundred  acres  of  third 
rate  land,  the  sum  of  sixty- two  and  a  half  cents;  and  in  that  propor- 
tion for  a  greater  or  less  quantity.  And  on  all  Bank  Stock  actually 
paid  in  at  the  rate,  twenty-five  cents  for  every  hundred  dollars. 

The  expenses  of  the  government  of  the  State  for  last 
year  was  11,761-$$$  dollars.  Receipts  of  bad  money  pre- 
vented payment  of  the  interest  of  the  debt.  On  the  4th 
day  of  December,  18 19,  there  were  arrears  of  taxes  due 
for  the  years  181 7  and  1818,  amounting  to  4991-5% 
dollars. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  among  the  objects  of  taxa- 
tion quoted,  that  on  bank  stock  is  by  the  act  limited  to 


1818-1820]       Flint*  s  Letters  from  America  231 

"stock  actually  paid  in."  A  most  decided  proof  of  the 
preponderance  of  the  banking  interest,  in  exempting  the 
villanous  associations  from  an  equal  share  of  taxation; 
and,  at  the  same  time,  countenancing  an  evasion  of  the 
security  pledged  by  bankers  to  the  people.  The  receipts 
of  bad  money,  noticed  in  last  paragraph,  disclose  a  wick- 
edness or  a  weakness  on  the  part  of  the  Assembly  which 
is  altogether  contemptible. 

The  following  are  the  rates  of  taxes  to  be  paid  for  county 
purposes:  For  every  horse,  mule,  or  ass,  not  exceeding 
37^  cents.  For  every  horse  kept  for  covering;  once  the 
rate  at  which  he  stands  for  the  season.  Every  tavern, 
not  less  than  ten,  nor  more  than  twenty-five  dollars.  For 
every  ferry,  not  less  than  five,  nor  more  than  twenty  dol- 
lars. [205]  Town  lots  in  proportion  to  their  value,  (ex- 
clusive of  improvements  thereon,)  not  exceeding  fifty 
cents  on  every  hundred  dollars.  A  tax  of  fifty  cents  to 
the  clerks  of  the  several  circuit  courts,  at  the  issuing  of 
each  writ  of  capias  ad  respondendum.  A  tax  of  fifty  cents 
on  each  certificate  of  magistracy,  with  the  county  seal 
attached  thereto.  A  tax  on  every  pleasure  carriage  with 
two  wheels,  of  one  dollar.  A  tax  on  every  pleasure  car- 
riage with  four  wheels,  of  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents. 
A  tax  on  every  silver  watch,  twenty-five  cents.  And  a  tax 
on  each  gold  watch,  of  fifty  cents. 

Town  taxes  for  defraying  the  expense  of  digging  wells, 
forming  streets,  &c.  are  regulated  by  a  committee  of  the 
inhabitants.  The  objects  of  taxation  in  a  town  in  this 
State  were  published  last  year.  Among  these,  a  very 
moderate  impost  on  bachelors  and  male  dogs  was  men- 
tioned. 

Rich  country  signifies  fertility  of  soil,  and  not  the  opu- 
lence of  its  inhabitants. —  It  would  be  vain  to  search  for  a 


232  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

rich  district,  according  to  the  European  acceptation  of 
the  term.  Almost  every  object  bespeaks  a  want  of  capital. 
Fine  houses  are  brick  ones  of  two  stories  high,  covered 
with  shingles,  and  frequently  unfinished  within;  and 
where  the  work  is  completed,  it  is  usually  in  a  bad  style; 
the  windows  often  broken;  and  the  adjoining  grounds 
perhaps  studded  with  the  stumps  of  trees,  overgrown  with 
rank  weeds,  or  rutted  by  hogs.  The  inferior  buildings, 
as  stables,  barns,  (and  negro  huts  in  slave  States,)  are 
unseemly  log  cabins,  frequently  standing  in  front  of  the 
mansion ;  the  whole  having  more  the  appearance  of  a  ruin 
than  the  abodes  of  a  people  having  taste  for  elegant  im- 
provements. Gardening  is  performed  in  the  most  slovenly 
manner  imaginable;  the  plough  [206]  being  in  more  gen- 
eral use  than  the  spade.  Labouring  utensils  are  con- 
structed without  the  application  of  the  joiner's  plane. 
Iron  is  either  sparingly  used  in  their  formation,  or 
altogether  dispensed  with. 

All  who  have  paid  attention  to  the  progress  of  new  set- 
tlements, agree  in  stating,  that  the  first  possession  of  the 
woods  in  America,  was  taken  by  a  class  of  hunters,  com- 
monly called  backwoodsmen.  These,  in  some  instances, 
purchased  the  soil  from  the  government,  and  in  others, 
placed  themselves  on  the  public  lands  without  permission. 
Many  of  them,  indeed,  settled  new  territories  before  the 
ground  was  surveyed,  and  before  public  sales  com- 
menced. Formerly  pre-emption  rights  were  given  to 
these  squatters;  but  the  irregularities  and  complicacy  that 
the  practice  introduced  into  the  business  of  the  land- 
office,  have  caused  its  being  given  up,  and  squatters  are 
now  obliged  to  make  way  for  regular  purchasers.  The 
improvements  of  a  backwoodsman  are  usually  confined 
to  building  a  rude  log  cabin,  clearing  and  fencing  a  small 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  233 

piece  of  ground  for  raising  Indian  corn.  A  horse,  a  cow, 
a  few  hogs,  and  some  poultry,  comprise  his  live-stock; 
and  his  farther  operations  are  performed  with  his  rifle. 
The  formation  of  a  settlement  in  his  neighbourhood  is  hurt- 
ful to  the  success  of  his  favourite  pursuit,  and  is  the  signal 
for  his  removing  into  more  remote  parts  of  the  wilder- 
ness. In  the  case  of  his  owning  the  land  on  which  he  has 
settled,  he  is  contented  to  sell  it  at  a  low  price,  and  his 
establishment,  though  trifling,  adds  much  to  the  comfort 
of  his  successor.  The  next  class  of  settlers  differ  from 
the  former  in  having  considerably  less  dependence  on  the 
killing  of  game,  in  remaining  in  the  midst  of  a  growing 
population,  and  in  devoting  themselves  more  to  agriculture. 
A  man  [207]  of  this  class  proceeds  on  a  small  capital;  he 
either  enlarges  the  clearings  begun  in  the  woods  by  his 
backwoodsmen  predecessor,  or  establishes  himself  on  a 
new  site.  On  his  arrival  in  a  settlement,  the  neighbours 
unite  in  assisting  him  to  erect  a  cabin  for  the  reception  of 
his  family.  Some  of  them  cut  down  the  trees,  others 
drag  them  to  the  spot  with  oxen,  and  the  rest  build  up 
the  logs.  In  this  way  a  house  is  commonly  reared  in  one 
day.  For  this  well-timed  assistance  no  immediate  pay- 
ment is  made,  and  he  acquits  himself  by  working  to  his 
neighbours.  It  is  not  in  his  power  to  hire  labourers,  and 
must  depend  therefore  on  his  own  exertions.  If  his 
family  is  numerous  and  industrious,  his  progress  is  greatly 
accelerated.  He  does  not  clear  away  the  forests  by  dint 
of  labour,  but  girdles  the  trees.120  By  the  second  summer 
after  this  operation  is  performed,  the  foliage  is  completely 
destroyed,  and  his  crops  are  not  injured  by  the  shade. 
He  plants  an  orchard,  which  thrives  and  bears  abun- 

120  The  process  of  cutting  the  bark  round  trees,  to  destroy  their  growth,  is 
called  girdling,  or  deadening. —  Flint. 


234  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

dantly  under  every  sort  of  neglect.  His  live-stock  soon 
becomes  much  more  numerous  than  that  of  his  back- 
wood  predecessor;  but,  as  his  cattle  have  to  shift  for  them- 
selves in  the  woods,  where  grass  is  scanty,  they  are  small 
and  lean.  He  does  not  sow  grass  seeds  to  succeed  his 
crops,  so  that  his  land,  which  ought  to  be  pasturage,  is 
overgrown  with  weeds.  The  neglect  of  sowing  grass- 
seeds  deprives  him  of  hay;  and  he  has  no  fodder  laid  up 
for  the  winter  except  the  blades  of  Indian  corn,  which  are 
much  withered,  and  do  not  appear  to  be  nutritious  food. 
The  poor  animals  are  forced  to  range  the  forests  in  winter, 
where  they  can  scarcely  procure  any  thing  which  is  green, 
except  [208]  the  buds  of  underwood  on  which  they  browse. 
—  Trees  are  sometimes  cut  down  that  the  cattle  may  eat 
the  buds.  Want  of  shelter  in  the  winter  completes  the 
sum  of  misery.  Hogs  suffer  famine  during  the  droughts 
of  summer,  and  the  frosts  and  snows  of  winter;  but  they 
become  fat  by  feeding  on  the  acorns  and  beech  nuts  which 
strow  the  ground  in  autumn.  Horses  are  not  exempted 
from  their  share  in  these  common  sufferings,  with  the 
addition  of  labour,  which  most  of  them  are  not  very  able 
to  undergo.  This  second  rate  class  of  farmers  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  markets  of  towns,  retailing  vegetables,  fruits, 
poultry,  and  dairy  produce.  One  of  them  came  lately 
into  this  place  on  horseback,  with  ten  pounds  of  butter  to 
sell;  but  as  he  could  not  obtain  a  price  to  his  mind,  he 
crossed  the  river  to  Louisville  market.  In  going  and 
returning  he  must  have  paid  twenty-five  cents  to  the  ferry- 
man —  a  considerable  expense,  when  it  is  considered  that 
he  had  travelled  twelve  miles  with  his  little  cargo. 
Another,  who  lives  at  the  distance  of  eight  miles  from  this 
place,  brought  a  barrel  of  whisky,  containing  about 
thirty-three   gallons.    He   employed    neither   horse   nor 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  235 

vehicle  in  the  transportation,  but  rolled  the  cask  along 
the  road,  which,  by  the  by,  is  none  of  the  smoothest. 
Incidents  of  this  kind  may,  perhaps,  cause  you  to  sup- 
pose that  the  condition  of  the  second  rate  settler  is  similar 
to  that  of  subtenants  in  the  north  of  Scotland,  or  in  Ireland ; 
but  the  high  price  of  labour  in  America  explains  the 
apparent  parity.  Men  perform  offices  for  themselves 
that,  in  Britain,  would  be  done  by  hiring  others.  The 
American  farmer,  it  must  be  observed,  is  commonly  the 
proprietor  of  the  land  he  occupies;  and,  in  the  hauteur  of 
independence,  is  not  surpassed  by  the  proudest  freehold- 
ers of  Britain.  The  settler  of  the  grade  under  considera- 
tion, is  only  able  to  bring  a  [209]  small  portion  of  his  land 
into  cultivation,  his  success,  therefore,  does  not  so  much 
depend  on  the  quantity  of  produce  which  he  raises,  as 
on  the  gradual  increase  in  the  value  of  his  property. 
When  the  neighbourhood  becomes  more  populous,  he  in 
general  has  it  in  his  power  to  sell  his  property  at  a  high 
price,  and  to  remove  to  a  new  settlement,  where  he  can 
purchase  a  more  extensive  tract  of  land,  or  commence 
farming  on  a  larger  scale  than  formerly.  The  next 
occupier  is  a  capitalist,  who  immediately  builds  a  larger 
barn  than  the  former,  and  then  a  brick  or  a  frame  house. 
He  either  pulls  down  the  dwelling  of  his  predecessor,  or 
converts  it  into  a  stable.  He  erects  better  fences,  and 
enlarges  the  quantity  of  cultivated  land;  sows  down  pas- 
ture fields,  introduces  an  improved  stock  of  horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  and  these  probably  of  the  Merino  breed.  He 
fattens  cattle  for  the  market,  and  perhaps  erects  a  flour- 
mill,  or  a  saw-mill,  or  a  distillery.  Farmers  of  this  de- 
scription are  frequently  partners  in  the  banks;  members 
of  the  State  assembly,  or  of  Congress,  or  Justices  of  the 
Peace.    The  condition  of  the  people  has  necessarily  some 


236  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

relation  to  the  age  and  prosperity  of  the  settlements  in 
which  they  live.  In  Pennsylvania,  for  instance  the  most 
extensive  farmers  are  prevalent.  In  the  earliest  settled 
parts  of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  the  first  and  second  rate 
farmers  are  most  numerous,  and  are  mixed  together.  In 
Indiana,  backwoodsmen  and  second  rate  settlers  predom- 
inate. The  three  conditions  of  settlers  described,  are 
not  to  be  understood  as  uniformly  distinct;  for  there  are 
intermediate  stages,  from  which  individuals  of  one  class 
pass,  as  it  were,  into  another.  The  first  invaders  of  the 
forest  frequently  become  farmers  of  the  second  order; 
and  there  are  examples  of  individuals  acting  their  parts 
in  all  the  three  gradations. 

[210]  In  the  district  of  Jefferson ville,  there  has  been 
an  apparent  interruption  of  the  prosperity  of  the  settlers. 
Upwards  of  two  hundred  quarter  sections  of  land  are  by 
law  forfeited  to  the  government,  for  non-payment  of  part 
of  the  purchase  money  due  more  than  a  year  ago.  A 
year's  indulgence  was  granted  by  Congress,  but  unless 
farther  accommodation  is  immediately  allowed,  the  lands 
will  soon  be  offered  a  second  time  for  sale.  Settlers  see- 
ing the  danger  of  losing  their  possessions,  are  now  offering 
to  transfer  their  rights  for  less  sums  than  have  already 
been  paid;  it  being  still  in  the  power  of  purchasers  to 
retain  the  lands  on  paying  up  the  arrears  due  in  the  land 
office.  This  marks  the  difficulty  that  individuals  at  pres- 
ent have,  in  procuring  small  sums  of  money,  in  this 
particular  district. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  237 

LETTER  XVIII 

Passage  to  Cincinnati  —  Depression  of  Trade  —  Popula- 
tion—  Manufactures  —  Institutions  —  Banks  —  Cli- 
mate —  Temperature  —  Springs  —  Quantity  of  Rain 
—  Thunder  —  Lightning  —  Aurora  -  Borealis  —  Tor- 
nadoes —  Earthquakes  —  The  Ohio  unusually  low 
in  1819  —  Meeting  of  the  Citizens  of  Cincinnati  — 
Notice  of  three  Indian  Chiefs  on  their  way  for  Wash- 
ington City  —  Remarks  on  the  Pacific  Disposition  of 
Indians,  and  their  motives  for  wars. 

Cincinnati,  (Ohio,)  June  26,  1820. 
I  have  come  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  this  place, 
by  a  steam-boat  in  twenty-nine  hours,  the  average  rate  of 
sailing  being  about  6%  miles  per  [211]  hour.  The  down- 
ward passage  is  performed  by  the  same  vessel  in  about 
fifteen  hours,  (nearly  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour.) 
From  this  it  appears  that  the  current  moves  at  the  rate  of 
about  2  %  miles  each  hour.  The  late  M.  Volney  m  esti- 
mated the  hourly  velocity  of  this  river  in  very  low  stages 
of  water,  at  two  miles.  His  result  is  probably  a  little 
more  than  the  mean  rate  along  the  whole  length  of  the 
river.  The  steam-boat  is  one  built  exclusively  for  the 
accommodation  of  passengers.  She  measures  one  hun- 
dred feet  on  the  keel,  twenty-five  feet  on  the  beam,  and 
draws  only  three  feet  and  three  inches  of  water.  The 
cabin  is  an  elegant  apartment,  forty  feet  long,  and  eigh- 
teen feet  wide.  Adjoining  to  it  are  eight  very  neat  state 
rooms.    The   water  wheel   is   situated   in   an   aperture 

m  Constantin  Francois  Chasseboeuf  Volney,  View  of  the  Climate  and  Soil  of 
the  United  States  of  America,  translated  from  the  French  (London,  1804).  Vol- 
ney ( 1 759-1820)  was  a  journalist,  scholar,  and  statesman,  who  wrote  on  a  great 
variety  of  subjects.  He  spent  four  years  in  America  (1 795-1 799),  and  intended 
to  publish  a  criticism  of  American  institutions,  but  was  dissuaded,  it  is  said,  by 
his  friendship  for  Franklin.  After  his  return  to  France,  he  was  made  a  member 
of  the  Academy  in  1813,  and  a  peer  by  Louis  XVIII  in  1814. —  Ed. 


238  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol. 


9 


astern,  where  it  is  protected  from  coming  in  contact  with 
logs,  which  are  numerous  in  the  river. 

Cincinnati  suffers  much  from  the  decline  in  business. 
The  town  does  not  now  present  any  thing  like  the  stir 
that  animated  it  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago.  Building 
is  in  a  great  measure  suspended,  and  the  city  which  was 
lately  over  crowded  with  people,  has  now  a  considerable 
number  of  empty  houses.  Rents  are  lowered,  and  the 
price  of  provisions  considerably  reduced.  Many  mechan- 
ics and  labourers  find  it  impossible  to  procure  employ- 
ment. The  same  changes  have  taken  place  in  the  other 
towns  of  the  western  country.  Numbers  of  people  have 
deserted  them,  and  commenced  farming  in  the  woods. 
They  will  there  have  it  in  their  power  to  raise  produce 
enough  for  their  families,  but,  with  the  present  low  mar- 
kets, and  the  probability  of  a  still  greater  reduction,  they 
can  have  no  inducement  but  necessity  for  cultivating  a 
surplus  produce. 

[212]  In  1819,  the  Cincinnati  Directory,  a  small  book 
containing  a  list  of  the  citizens,  and  many  historical  par- 
ticulars, was  published.  Some  extracts  from  that  work 
will  give  a  condensed  view  of  the  present  magnitude  and 
business  of  the  place. 

The  enumeration  of  houses,  made  in  March,  1819,  was 
as  follows: 

Of  brick  and  stone,  two  stories  and  upwards,  .  .  .  387 
Do.  Do.  of  one  story,  ....         .        45 

Of  wood,  two  stories  and  upwards,  .  .  .  .  .615 
Do.    one  story, 843 

1890 

Occupied  as  separate  dwelling  houses,  ....  1003 
Mercantile  stores,     . 95 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America 


239 


Groceries,        .... 

Druggists'  stores, 

Confectionaries, 

Auction  and  commission  stores, 

Printing  offices, 

Book  and  stationery  stores, 

Places  of  public  worship,  . 

Banks,    .         .         . 

Mechanics'  shops,  factories,  and  mills 

Taverns, 

College,  court  house,  and  jail,     . 

Warehouses  and  other  buildings, 


102 
11 

4 
5 
5 
4 
10 

5 
214 

17 

3 

412 


Total  1890 


Population,  as  taken  in  July,  1819 

White  males, 5402 

White  females, 447 1 


-9873 


Male  persons  of  colour,       .         .         .         .         .         .215 

Females  of  colour, 195 


410 


{213]  Manufactures 

Two  iron  and  brass  founderies, 

Blacksmiths, 

Tin  ware  manufactories, 

Copper,        Do 

Nail  factories, 

Silver  smiths,  (watch  repairers  included,) 

White  smiths, 

Gunsmiths,  ...... 

Fire  engine  maker,         .... 

Copperplate  engraver,    .... 

Gilder,  

Maker  of  sieves  and  lattice-work,  from  wire, 

Cabinet  work, 15 


10283 

Work  shops  Workmen 

132 

80  or  90 

32 


14 

13 
22 

3 
2 

1 

1 

1 

1 

84 


240  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

Work  shops  Workmen 

Coopers,     .                   ......     16  50 

Coach  and  waggon  makers,    .....       9  33 

Chair  makers,       .......      4  31 

House  carpenters  and  joiners,        .         .  from  80  to  100 

and  employing  about           .....  400 

Boat  builders,  employing        .         .         .         .         .  60  or  70 

Ivory  and  wood  clock  factory,          ....  14 

Saddle  tree  makers,        ......  9 

A  plough  maker;  pump  and  block  maker;  a  spin- 
ning wheel  factory;  a  window  maker;  two  turners 
of  fancy  wood- work;  and  one  fanning  mill  maker. 

Shoemakers,          .         .         .         .         .         .         .26  116 

Tailors, 23  83 

Saddlers,       ........     11  32 

Tan-yards,   ........       6  25 

Tobacconists,        .......      6  70 

Bakers,         ........     15  38 

Hatters,        ........       5  37 

Soap  boilers,  and  tallow  chandlers,           .         .         .7  19 

Distilleries,  ........       9  20 

Rope- walks,          .......      3  10 

Breweries, 2  20 

Potteries,      ........      3  14 

Stone  cutters,        .......       2  15 

Brick-yards,           .         .         .         .         .         .         -25  200 

There  are  some  other  manufacturers,  mechanics,  &c. 
such  as  the  following,  viz.  Five  book-binders;  five 
painters  and  glaziers;  two  brush-makers;  one  [214]  comb- 
maker;  two  upholsterers;  one  bellows-maker;  two  last- 
makers;  one  whip-maker;  one  hundred  brick-layers;  thirty 
plasterers;  fifteen  stone  masons;  eighteen  milliners;  one 
dyer;  ten  barbers  and  hair-dressers;  ten  street  pavers; 
one  burr  millstone  factory. 

Cincinnati  has  a  city  court,  occasional  sittings  of  the 
Supreme  and  Federal  Courts,  and  a  court  of  common 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  241 

pleas;  a  museum  of  natural  history;  a  library;  a  reading 
room;  a  theatre;  three  newspapers;  five  banks;  an  insur- 
ance company;  three  fire  engines;  a  humane  society  for 
the  resuscitation  of  persons  submersed  in  water;  an 
agricultural  society;  two  Bible  societies;  two  tract  societies, 
(one  of  them  for  distributing  Bibles  and  tracts  amongst 
boatmen  on  the  river;)  four  Sunday  school  societies;  and 
three  charitable  societies.  There  are  twenty-five  lawyers 
and  twenty-two  doctors  in  town. 

Of  four  provincial  banks  in  town,  the  paper  of  three  is 
reduced  to  about  one-third  part  of  the  specie  sums  on  the 
face  of  their  notes,  and  the  people  are  making  a  brisk 
run  on  the  fourth.  This  paper  shop  is  not  paying  in 
specie,  but  merely  giving  money  like  its  own.  When  the 
barter  can  be  no  longer  continued,  the  house  must  be  shut, 
and  the  holders  of  the  pictures  find  them  of  no  value. 

The  laws  of  the  country,  as  formerly  explained  to  you, 
give  no  redress. 

The  balance  of  trade  in  favour  of  England  and 
India,  together  with  the  exorbitant  premiums  to  be  paid 
in  exchanging  bad  money  for  specie,  or  bills  of  the  United 
States  Bank,  are  quite  unfavourable  to  commerce  with 
foreign  countries.  The  debts  due  to  the  merchants  of 
England,  and  to  those  in  the  Eastern  States,  might  give 
little  [215]  annoyance,  if  creditors  were  indulgent  as  to 
the  past,  and  as  liberal  as  usual  in  future  transactions. 
Property  laws  give  full  security  in  the  meantime,  and  the 
bankrupt  laws  of  some  States  form  a  complete  protec- 
tion against  foreign  claims.  It  is  only  to  be  feared,  that 
foreign  merchants  will  not  be  sufficiently  accommodating 
hereafter.  The  increasing  numbers  of  their  agents  in 
the  seaports  of  America,  augur  no  good  to  enterprizing 
traders  in  this  part. 


242  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  climate  of  this  country,  like  that  of  other  parts  of 
North  America,  is  subject  to  extremes  of  heat  and  cold. 
We  experience  something  like  the  summer  of  tropical 
regions;  the  winter  of  Russia;  the  spring  of  England;  and 
the  autumn  of  Egypt.  The  range  of  the  thermometer  is 
well  exemplified  by  a  compilation  from  the  register  kept 
by  Colonel  Mansfield,  near  Cincinnati,  for  eight  years; 
1806  and  1 81 3  included. 


Lowest 

1806, 

9° 

1807, 

u°  below  zero, 

1808, 

4  do. 

1809, 

2  do. 

1810, 

7  do. 

1811, 

8  do. 

1812, 

5  do. 

1813, 

10  do. 

Mean 

range  nearly  ioo°. 

Highest 

Range 

94 

85° 

95 

106 

98 

102 

94 

96 

9i 

98 

96 

104 

96 

IOI 

97 

107 

The  greatest  range  known  at  Cincinnati  is  11 6°.  At 
Salem,  in  Massachussets,  a  range  of  ioo°  was  long  ago 
deducted  from  observations. 

At  Jeffersonville,  in  Indiana,  a  range  of  96^°  appears 
on  the  register  for  six  months  past.  The  third  column  in 
the  following  table  shows  the  greatest  change  of  temper- 
ature that  occurred  in  each  month,  between  eight  o'clock 
A.M.  and  two  P.M. ;  a  period  of  six  hours. 

[216]  Maximum     Minimum  Range 


January, 

5o° 

20  above  zero, 

30° 

February, 

78 

4  do. 

38 

March, 

70 

23  do. 

35 

April, 

92 

20  do. 

24 

May, 

79 

50  do. 

27 

June, 

98J 

50  do. 

36 

As  the  above  observations  extend  only  to  a 

space  of  six 

1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  243 

months,  no  accurate  determination  can  be  derived  from 
them.  The  most  prominent  occurrence  is  a  transition  of 
380  in  six  hours.  Dr.  Ramsay  has  observed  elsewhere  a 
change  of  500,  in  the  space  of  fifteen  hours.  These  sud- 
den alterations  are  disagreeable  to  the  sense  of  feeling, 
and  injurious  to  the  health. 

It  is  the  popular  belief  that  the  greatest  cold  usually 
occurs  about  sunrise,  and  the  greatest  heat  about  3  P.M. 
The  most  sudden  changes  are  from  cold  to  heat,  the 
transition  from  heat  to  cold  not  being  so  instantaneous. 
Except  for  the  gradual  progress  of  this  change,  it  would 
be  more  sensibly  felt,  and  more  dangerous. 

The  absence  of  figured  icicles  from  the  insides  of  win- 
dows was  mentioned  in  a  former  letter.  Up  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  I  have  never  seen  any  of  these  incrustations  in 
America, —  a  certain  proof  of  the  dryness  of  the  atmos- 
phere during  frost.  In  summer,  rains  are  not  frequent, 
but  when  they  do  happen,  they  generally  fall  in  torrents. 
They  are  often  attended  by  easterly  winds,  and  are  par- 
tially distributed,  drenching  small  tracts  of  country,  and 
leaving  adjoining  parts  dry.  During  the  summer  of  1819, 
some  parts  of  the  country  suffered  under  a  severe  and 
long  continued  drought.  The  blades  of  the  crops  of 
maize  became  shrivelled,  the  grass,  and  afterwards  the 
weeds  withered.  Latterly,  part  of  the  foliage  of  the 
woods  was  very  much  dried.  [217]  Travellers  were  sub- 
jected to  some  inconvenience  for  want  of  water  to  their 
horses,  as  were  many  families  who  lived  in  dry  situations. 
Scarcity  of  water  is  a  calamity  that  is  much  aggravated  by 
a  hot  climate.  In  taverns,  a  bucket  filled  with  this  indis- 
pensable liquid,  stands  open  to  every  person  who  chooses 
to  take  up  the  ladle  that  floats  in  it,  and  drink.  In  schools, 
churches,  and  courts  of  justice,  water  is  provided. 


244  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  older  settlers  of  this  country  affirm,  that  the 
quantity  of  water  issuing  from  springs  is  greatly  aug- 
mented, by  clearing  away  the  timber  from  the  adjoining 
lands.  From  the  number  and  the  respectability  of  the 
persons  agreeing  in  this  particular,  the  fact  seems  to  be 
established.  This  is  not,  however,  to  be  explained  sim- 
ply by  evaporation  from  the  earth,  as  that  evaporation 
would  be  promoted  by  clearing  away  the  woods,  which 
exposes  the  surface  of  the  ground  to  the  rays  of  the  sun. 
In  this  way  the  soil  would  absorb  a  less  supply  for  springs 
than  if  it  were  shaded  by  trees.  It  would  seem  proba- 
ble, that  the  moisture  intercepted  by  trees  in  the  shape  of 
rain,  dew,  snow,  and  hoar-frost,  which  is  evaporated 
before  reaching  the  ground,  and  the  water  withdrawn 
from  the  earth  by  the  organs  of  trees,  are  together  greater 
than  the  additional  evaporation  from  the  surface  that  is 
induced  by  removing  the  trees. 

In  January  last,  the  rain  at  Jeffersonville  measured  3^ 
inches;  in  February  5^ ;  in  March  3/4 ;  in  April  2]/2 ;  and 
in  May,  three  inches;  making  an  aggregate  of  eighteen 
inches  in  five  months,  a  quantity  that  is  probably  a  little 
greater  than  the  mean  for  any  long  series  of  years. 

Thunder  occurs  frequently;  sometimes  the  peals  are 
tremendous,  and  almost  incessant.  They  are  generally 
accompanied  with  showers  of  rain,  so  copious  [218]  as  to 
cover  flat  ground  with  a  sheet  of  water,  and  the  declivi- 
ties with  a  broad  stream.  Many  of  the  best  houses  are 
furnished  with  rods  for  conducting  the  lightning.  Judg- 
ing from  notices  of  accidents  from  the  electric  fluid  in  the 
newspapers,  I  am  not  led  to  believe  that  they  are  much 
more  numerous  than  in  Britain.  Although  trees  are  bad 
conductors  of  electricity,  they  are  frequently  struck,  and 
it  seems  probable  that  the  great  abundance  of  lofty  trees 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  245 

lessens  considerably  the  danger  to  buildings.  An  old 
gentleman,  a  man  of  observation,  told  me  that  he  never 
knew  of  a  decayed  tree  that  had  been  struck  with  light- 
ning. This  information  is  the  more  worthy  of  observa- 
tion, as  great  quantities  of  withered  trees  are  found 
amongst  the  woods,  and  as  the  greater  part  of  the  lands 
of  the  western  country  are  cleared  by  deadening  the  tim- 
ber, and  allowing  it  to  stand  till  it  is  easily  burnt,  or  falls 
by  decay.  Another  person,  who  is  well  acquainted  with 
the  habits  of  the  Indians,  informed  me,  that  during  thun- 
der storms,  these  people  take  shelter  under  beech  trees, 
in  preference  to  other  kinds  of  timber.  Some  compara- 
tive experiments  on  the  conducting  properties  of  leaves, 
bark,  and  timber,  are  necessary  before  the  propriety  of 
this  practice  can  be  established. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  form  a  conception  of  any  thing 
in  meteorology,  more  sublime  than  the  aerial  lightning  of 
this  climate.  In  dark  nights  the  phenomenon  is  highly 
entertaining  to  every  spectator  to  whom  the  appearance 
is  new.  The  vivid  flashes  seem  to  emanate  from  a  point, 
and  diverge  from  thence  in  every  possible  direction.  The 
eye  has  scarcely  time  to  trace  the  progress  of  these  corus- 
cations, which  seem  to  sweep  round  half  the  expanse  of 
the  heavens  almost  in  an  instant,  and  to  irradiate  [219]  the 
margins  of  the  blackest  clouds  with  a  transitory  blaze. 

I  have  never  seen  the  aurora  borealis  in  America. 
Two  instances  of  its  appearing  in  1814  are  mentioned  in 
the  Picture  of  Cincinnati,  which  are  supposed  to  be  the 
only  unequivocal  ones  observed  since  the  settlement  of 
the  western  country.  This  meteor  is  more  frequently 
seen  by  the  people  of  the  northern  States. 

The  most  prominent  characteristics  of  the  climate  of 
this  country  are,  the  superior  transparency  of  the  air  in 


246  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

clear  weather;  the  frequency  of  a  light  yellow,  but  trans- 
lucent tinge  that  is  strongest  at  the  horizon,  and  fainter 
upwards,  where  it  is  blended  with  a  sky  of  a  fine  light 
blue,  at  the  height  of  a  few  degrees.  The  number  of 
foggy  days  is  small,1"  and  the  appearance  of  clouds,  pre- 
vious to  rain,  sudden.  Indeed,  on  several  occasions,  I 
have  observed  a  clear  atmosphere  transformed  into  one 
abounding  with  dark  clouds  and  rain,  in  the  space  of  an 
hour.  Changes  of  this  kind  are  no  doubt  produced  by 
sudden  transitions  of  temperature. 

Severe  gales  of  wind  do  not  appear  prevalent  in  west- 
ern America,  if  the  two  last  winters  can  be  admitted  as 
sufficient  examples,  as  these  seasons  were  much  less 
stormy \  than  those  of  Scotland.  But  it  is  necessary  to 
make  an  exception  of  the  tornadoes,  which  occasionally 
blow  down  houses,  lay  waste  fields,  and  open  avenues 
through  the  woods.  One  of  these  tempests  destroyed 
some  [220]  buildings  at  Cincinnati,  on  the  28th  of  May, 
1809.  It  was  preceded  by  a  wind  from  the  south,  and  a 
higher  current  blowing  from  the  west,  and  was  under- 
stood to  commence  in  the  State  of  Tennessee.  It  crossed 
the  Allegany  mountains  "and  made  its  exit  from  the 
continent' *  on  the  same  day.123 

Although  earthquakes  have  been  frequently  felt  in  the 
United  States,  the  injury  done  by  them  has  either  been 
local,  or  of  little  consequence.  On  the  16th  of  December, 
181 1,  a  concussion  at  Cincinnati  threw  down  some  chim- 
ney tops,  opened  room  doors  that  were  shut  by  a  falling 
latch,  and  caused  the  furniture  to  shake.    During  the 

122  Dr.  Drake  has  shown  that  the  mean  number  of  cloudy  days  in  the  year, 
was  104.33  for  a  space  of  six  years;  and  that  the  mean  term  of  variable  days  for 
the  same  period,  was  82.16  days.  Consequently,  nearly  half  the  time  must 
have  been  clear  weather. — Picture  of  Cincinnati,  p.  103. —  Flint. 

128  See  Dr.  Drake's  Picture  of  Cincinnati. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  247 

year  181 2,  two  considerable  shocks,  and  many  lesser 
vibrations  were  observed.124  It  appeared  that  the  centre 
from  which  the  convulsions  proceeded,  was  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  New  Madrid,  which  lies  on  the  bank  of  the 
Mississippi,  about  seventy  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio.125  At  that  place  a  dreadful  commotion  prevailed 
in  December,  181 2.  The  trees  beat  upon  one  another, 
and  were  either  twisted  or  broken.  The  site  of  the  town 
subsided  about  eight  feet.  Many  acres  of  land  sunk, 
and  were  overflowed  by  the  river,  and  the  water  rushed 
in  torrents  from  crevices  opened  in  the  land.  Boats  were 
sunk,  and,  (as  if  the  order  of  nature  had  been  inverted) 
sunk  logs  of  timber  were  raised  from  the  bottom  in  such 
quantities  that  almost  covered  the  surface  of  the  river. 
Slight  vibrations,  at  intervals  of  a  few  days,  continue  to 
the  present  time.  Many  of  the  people  deserted  their 
possessions,  and  retired  to  the  Missouri,  where  lands  were 
granted  to  them  by  Congress.  The  inhabitants  who 
remained,  and  others  who  have  since  joined  the  [221]  set- 
tlement, are  now  so  accustomed  to  the  tremor,  that  they 
talk  of  it  with  little  or  no  concern. 

Last  summer  (1819)  was  unusually  dry.  The  Ohio 
was  not  navigable  for  steam-boats,  subsequent  to  the 
middle  of  April,  and  there  was  no  flood  till  February  last. 
West  India  produce,  viz.  coffee  and  sugar,  became  scarce, 
and  sold  at  more  than  twice  the  common  price.  Many 
of  the  people  in  this  land  of  plenty,  seemed  to  look  for- 
ward to  a  privation  of  these  articles,  as  to  an  approaching 
famine  —  Apropos  of  coffee,  as  I  have  heard  that  the 
grocers  of  your  country  are  not  allowed  to  sell  burnt  beans 

Ibid. —  Flint. 

*  For  the  early  history  of  New  Madrid,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our 
series,  note  185. —  Ed. 


248  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

as  a  substitute,  it  is  fortunate  for  the  revenue,  that  the 
Atlantic  is  always  navigable. 

Since  coming  here,  a  numerous  meeting  of  citizens  was 
held,  to  take  into  consideration  the  case  of  a  Judge  who 
occupied  another  public  situation  at  the  time  of  his  being 
placed  on  the  bench.  Appointments  of  this  kind  are 
contrary  to  the  constitution. 

Three  Indians,  the  chief,  the  counsellor,  and  the  warrior 
of  the  Osage  nation,126  on  their  way  for  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, halted  here  for  a  day.  At  the  request  of  an  hospit- 
able gentleman  in  town,  they  dined  at  his  house.  I  had 
there  an  opportunity  of  having  some  conversation  with 
them,  through  the  medium  of  their  interpreter.  Two  of 
them  are  men  of  large  stature,  and  possess  an  unaffected 
dignity  of  deportment,  which,  perhaps,  might  not  be  im- 
proved by  any  thing  like  the  adulation  of  European 
courtiers.  They  are  cleanly  in  their  persons,  and  their 
skin  is  of  a  light  copper  colour.  At  table  they  acquitted 
themselves  with  much  ease  and  propriety.  After  dinner 
they  severally  sat  to  an  artist,  who  drew  their  portraits. 
During  [222]  this  process,  they  kept  themselves  immov- 
able as  statues,  and  were  highly  pleased  with  the  imita- 
tive art.  The  terrestrial  globe  was  exhibited  to  them, 
and  briefly  explained;  as  was  also  the  hypothesis  of  a 
hollow  sphere,  lately  suggested  by  Captain  Symmes  of 
this  place.127  After  a  short  deliberation,  the  chief  replied: 
"We  are  willing  to  believe  all  that  you  have  told  us,  but 
white  men  know  these  things  best.,,    Their  answers  to 

128  For  the  Osage  Indians,  see  Bradbury's  Travels,  volume  v  of  our  series 
note  22. —  Ed. 

137  John  Cleves  Symmes  (i  780-1829),  soldier  and  scientific  speculator,  was  a 
nephew  of  the  pioneer  promoter  of  the  same  name.  His  much-ridiculed  theory 
of  the  earth  as  a  hollow  sphere,  was  elaborated  in  his  volume,  Theory  of  Con- 
centric Spheres,  demonstrating  that  the  Earth  is  Hollow  (Cincinnati,  1826). —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  249 

questions  were  always  direct,  concise,  and  calculated  to 
avoid  giving  offence.  The  principal  peculiarity  of  then- 
conduct  was  an  eagerness  to  examine  the  interior  of  the 
house.  In  this  they  were  even  indulged  without  attend- 
ance. Their  business  at  the  seat  of  government,  is  to 
effect  an  arrangement  for  obtaining  the  means  of  improve- 
ment in  the  arts  of  civilized  life;  and  to  represent  a  griev- 
ance occasioned  by  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
having  purchased  the  lands  of  a  neighbouring  tribe, 
which  now  encroach  on  the  hunting  grounds  of  the  Osage 
nation.  The  chiefs  say,  that  they  have  1800  warriors, 
and  are  able  to  destroy  the  tribes  which  have  come  into 
their  country;  but  that  they  are  unwilling  to  go  to  war. 

Despotic  governments,  wherever  they  are,  might  stand 
reproved  by  the  humanity  of  the  aboriginal  chiefs  of 
America;  and  every  people  who  are  oppressed  by  the 
rapacity  of  privileged  orders,  may  derive  valuable  instruc- 
tion from  the  independent  men  of  the  forests,  whose  high 
spirit  does  not  submit  to  be  enslaved  or  taxed.  Wars 
against  people  of  this  character  present  few  allurements 
to  the  ambitious,  and  still  fewer  to  avaricious  men.  The 
pacific  policy  of  the  Indians  may,  perhaps,  be  discredited, 
on  account  of  the  sanguinary  wars  that  have  thinned  the 
ranks  of  numerous  tribes,  and  annihilated  many  others. 
But  it  must  be  admitted,  that  this  depopulation  [223]  has 
been  accelerated,  if  not  entirely  produced,  by  Europeans, 
who  took  possession  of  the  country  by  force,  driving  tribes 
into  the  territories  of  other  nations.  A  migration  cannot 
be  tolerated  to  any  great  extent,  where  the  people  depend 
on  hunting  and  fishing  for  their  subsistence.  Hence,  the 
object  of  Indian  warfare  has  been  extirpation.  The  prac- 
tice of  leaguing  with  one  tribe  in  fighting  against  another, 
has  been  a  powerful  cause  of  mutual  destruction.    The 


250  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

presents  given  by  Europeans  in  these  cases,  and  the  prom- 
ises made,  could  never  have  been  inducements  to  wars 
purely  Indian.  Add  to  this,  the  havock  introduced  by 
the  small-pox,  and  the  use  of  spiritous  liquors.  We  are 
almost  totally  unacquainted  with  the  remote  history  of  the 
American  tribes.  The  great  magnitude  of  their  remain- 
ing works,  prove  that  the  population  has  once  been  com- 
paratively numerous.  This  fact  is  in  some  measure  cor- 
roborated by  the  great  number  of  nations  existing  at  the 
time  of  the  first  invasion  of  white  people.  It  follows,  that 
the  wars  that  occurred  during  the  accumulation  of  these 
people,  have  probably  been  less  frequent,  or  less  destruc- 
tive than  those  which  have  latterly  exterminated  a  large 
portion  of  the  race. 

[224]  LETTER  XIX 

Descend  the  Ohio  from  Cincinnati  to  Madison  —  Notices 
of  a  Scotch  Settlement  —  Excess  of  Male  Population 

—  Roads  —  Harvest  —  Crops  —  Orchards  —  Timber 

—  Elections  —  Methodist  Camp  Meeting. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,) 
August  8,  1820. 
On  the  day  succeeding  the  date  of  my  last,  I  descended 
the  river  to  Madison,  a  new  town  on  the  Indiana  side  of 
the  river.128 

About  twelve  miles  north-east  of  Madison,  and  extend- 
ing from  thence  eastward,  is  a  new  settlement,  consisting 
chiefly  of  Scots,  who  amount  to  thirty-three  families. 
The  land  which  they  have  fixed  on  seems  to  be  of  the 

128  Madison,  Jefferson  County,  was  to  Indiana  what  Maysville  was  to  Kentucky 
and  Shawneetown  to  Illinois,  an  important  entrepdt  and  place  of  debarkation 
for  pioneers  moving  to  the  interior.  The  early  railways  built  to  Madison  and 
Maysville,  emphasize  this. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  251 

second  rate  quality.  It  is  uneven,  and  intermixed  with 
many  deep  ravines;  in  most  of  which  the  water  is  now 
dried  up.  The  greatest  natural  disadvantage  of  this  sit- 
uation is,  the  difficulty  of  having  roads  over  ground  so 
much  broken;  but  the  industry  displayed  by  the  settlers 
may  remedy  this  before  the  present  generation  passeth 
away.  In  the  above  enumeration  of  Scots,  I  used  the 
term  families  for  want  of  a  better;  but  it  deserves  notice, 
that  two  of  these  establishments  consist  of  two  young  men 
each,  and  one  of  them  of  three.  Amongst  the  bachelor 
cultivators  I  recognised  one  of  the  passengers  who  came 
over  with  me  in  the  ship  Glenthorn.  Another  of  them 
was  lately  a  journeyman  tailor  in  Edinburgh.  He  has 
thrown  aside  the  tools  of  his  former  business,  and  taken 
up,  in  their  stead,  a  more  formidable  [225]  weapon.  I 
had  an  opportunity  of  conversing  with  five  of  these  peo- 
ple. The  supposed  horrors  of  a  back-woods  life,  aggra- 
vated by  a  state  of  celibacy,  has  by  no  means  shed  a  gloom 
over  their  countenances.  Whatever  their  privations  may 
be  in  the  mean  time,  they  have  at  least  a  reasonable  pros- 
pect of  having  them  speedily  removed.  The  lands  which 
they  improve  are  their  own.  Whether  they  continue  to 
cultivate  or  to  sell  them,  their  capital  will  increase:  and 
even  in  the  event  of  their  taking  wives,  the  probability  of 
their  children  becoming  paupers  must  be  greatly  lessened, 
in  consequence  of  their  emigrating  to  America.  The 
excessive  emigration  of  the  men  occasions  a  considerable 
paucity  of  females  in  all  new  settlements.  While  at  Pitts- 
burg, I  saw  a  young  widower  with  two  infant  children  on 
his  way  for  the  military  lands,  in  the  State  of  Illinois. 
Some  one  hinted  to  him,  that  to  marry  again  would  be  a 
prudential  step  on  his  part.  He  gave  his  assent  to  the 
truth  of  the  remark,  but  expressed  some  doubts  of  his 


252  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

finding  a  wife  where  he  was  going.  ' 1 1  have  lately  been 
in  that  country/ '  continued  he,  "and  I  believe  that  the 
girls  there  are  all  married  up. ' '  During  the  early  stages 
of  the  settlement  of  the  colonies,  the  excess  of  male  popu- 
lation must  have  been  thought  a  great  inconvenience.  It 
is  on  record  that  the  settlers  of  Virginia  procured  ladies 
from  England  in  exchange  for  tobacco.  The  necessity  of 
importations  of  this  kind  has  been  long  ago  removed,  in 
that  State;  and  the  two  sexes  are  now  nearly  equal  in 
point  of  numbers,  although  not  quite  equally  distributed 
over  the  country.  Before  dropping  this  digression  on 
celibacy,  I  must  mention  my  conviction  that  a  very  great 
proportion  of  Scotsmen  remain  bachelors  in  America. 
This  is  not  asserted  as  a  fact  that  applies  to  every  part  of 
the  country,  but  in  [226]  so  far  as  my  observation  has  gone, 
I  state  it  with  much  confidence.  Whether  we  are  less 
ardent  in  the  pursuit  than  other  people,  or  whether  we  are 
more  under  the  influence  of  the  prudential  principle, —  or 
whether  our  imputed  loyalty,  or  some  other  national 
peculiarities,  make  the  fair  daughters  of  this  land  repul- 
sive to  us,  I  am  not  prepared  to  say.  To  return  to  the 
Scots  settlement;  J.  M.  lately  a  blacksmith  in  the  county 
of  Edinburgh,  has  settled  here.  He  arrived  with  his  wife, 
seven  sons,  two  daughters,  and  a  son-in-law,  about  ten 
months  before  I  met  him.  He  has  purchased  480  acres 
of  land,  built  two  log-houses  and  a  small  stable;  cleared 
and  inclosed  about  22  acres,  which  is  nearly  all  under 
crop;  deadened  the  timber  of  about  80  acres  more;  and 
planted  an  orchard.  In  addition  to  these  improvements, 
his  sons  have  wrought  for  a  neighbour  to  the  amount  of 
a  hundred  days'  work.  He  has  a  horse,  a  cow,  a  few 
hogs,  and  some  poultry.  I  inquired  if  he  felt  himself 
happy  in  a  strange  land;  he  replied,   that  he  would 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  253 

not  return  to  Scotland  though  the  property,  of  which 
he  formerly  rented  a  part,  were  given  to  him  for 
nothing. 

Madison  is  a  county  town,  consisting  of  about  100 
houses.  It  is  situated  on  a  northerly  bend  of  the  river 
Ohio;  and  is,  therefore,  a  place  well  adapted  for  inter- 
course with  the  interior  of  Indiana,  and,  on  that  account, 
it  may  soon  become  a  considerable  town.  While  I  was 
there,  the  circuit  court  of  the  State  was  sitting.  Two 
respectable  personages  were  on  the  bench,  and  several 
lawyers  of  polite  address  were  attending  to  the  business 
on  hand.  The  number  of  litigants  is  extremely  great 
when  the  thinness  of  the  population  is  considered. 

The  roads  are  merely  narrow  avenues  through  [227]  the 
woods;  felling  and  rolling  away  the  timber  being,  in  most 
cases,  all  the  labour  which  is  bestowed  upon  them. 
Withered  trees,  and  others  blown  down  by  the  wind,  lie 
across,  forming  obstructions  in  many  parts.  The  few 
bridges  which  we  do  see  are  made  of  wood.  In  Indiana, 
the  roads  are  opened  and  occasionally  repaired  by  an 
assessment  from  every  man  who  has  lived  thirty  days  in 
any  particular  county.  In  the  present  year  this  statute 
labour  has  been  increased  from  two  days'  to  six  days' 
work;  and  the  alteration  is  unpopular,  because  the  poor- 
est men  in  the  State  are  obliged  to  pay  as  much  as  the 
wealthiest  landholders,  and  non-resident  landholders  are 
exempted.  I  have  seen  several  labourers  who  left  the 
State  to  avoid  this  obnoxious  tax.  I  am  not  informed 
whether  the  increase  mentioned  has  been  exacted  in  every 
part  of  the  State.  An  act  of  the  legislature  fixes  six  days' 
labour,  or  a  money  commutation  of  the  same,  as  a  maxi- 
mum, leaving  the  actual  increase  in  the  option  of  county 
commissioners.     It  does  not  appear  probable  that  the 


254  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

road  law  can  exist  long  without  being  modified,  as  popular 
opinion  regulates  every  thing  of  the  kind  here. 

On  the  29th  of  June,  wheat  harvest  was  commenced 
on  several  farms  to  the  west  of  Madison.  Oats,  at  that 
time,  were  headed  out  and  luxuriant;  but  the  heat  of  the 
climate  is  uniformly  unfavourable  to  the  ripening  of  this 
kind  of  crop.  Its  weight,  relative  to  measure,  is  usually 
about  half  of  that  of  good  grain  in  the  better  parts  of  Brit- 
ain. The  growth  of  Indian  corn  is  this  season  luxuriant. 
The  only  injury  it  has  suffered  arises  from  squirrels  that 
gathered  a  considerable  quantity  of  the  seed  in  many 
fields.  Squirrels  are  not  so  excessively  numerous  in  the 
uninhabited  woods  as  in  the  vicinity  of  cultivated  fields. 
Potatoes  are  small  and  of  a  bad  [228]  quality.  At  Jeffer- 
sonville,  so  early  as  the  29th  of  May  last,  new  potatoes 
were  in  the  market.  Turnips  (so  far  as  I  have  observed) 
do  not  grow  to  a  large  size,  nor  are  they  raised  in  large 
quantities.  Flax,  in  every  field  that  I  have  seen,  was  a 
short  crop,  with  strong  stems,  and  tops  too  much  forked. 
Probably  thicker  sowing  would  improve  its  quality. 
Hemp  grows  with  great  luxuriance.  The  orchards  are 
abundantly  productive,  and  yield  apples  of  the  largest 
size;  but  little  care  is  taken  in  selecting  or  ingraft- 
ing from  varieties  of  the  best  flavour.  Small  crab  apples 
are  the  most  acid,  and  produce  the  finest  cider.  Pears 
are  scarcely  to  be  seen.  Peaches  of  the  best  and  worst 
qualities  are  to  be  met  with.  The  trees  bear  on  the  third 
summer  after  the  seed  is  sown,  and  although  no  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  the  rearing  them,  the  fruit  is  excessively 
plentiful,  and  is  sometimes  sold  at  twenty-five  cents  (is. 
i^d.  English)  per  bushel.  Last  year  I  weighed  a  peach, 
and  found  its  weight  to  be  eleven  ounces,  and  I  observed 
in  a  newspaper  about  the  same  time,  an  account  of  one  of 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  255 

the  extraordinary  weight  of  fourteen  ounces.  A  rancid 
sort  of  spirit  is  distilled  from  them,  known  here  by  the 
name  of  peach  brandy.  Cherries  are  small.  The  earliest 
this  season  at  Cincinnati,  were  ripe  on  the  2  2d  of  May. 
Wild  cherry  trees  grow  to  a  great  height  in  the  woods; 
the  timber  is  of  a  red  colour,  and  is  used  in  making  tables, 
bureaus,  &c.  and  forms  a  tolerable  substitute  for  ma- 
hogany. 

Ornamental  gardening  is  a  pursuit  little  attended  to, 
and  perhaps  will  not  soon  be  generally  exhibited.  The 
soil  of  the  best  land  being  soft,  the  torrents  of  rain  which 
almost  instantaneously  deluge  the  surface  convert  it  into 
a  paste  of  a  very  unsightly  appearance.  Where  the  ground 
has  even  a  slight  declivity,  it  is  liable  to  have  deep  ruts 
washed  in  it.  Low  walks  and  other  hollows,  are  [229] 
often  filled  with  the  soil  carried  down  from  higher  parts  of 
the  ground.  The  severity  of  the  winter  is  another  obsta- 
cle ;  it  being  difficult  to  preserve  some  perennial  and  bien- 
nial plants,  or  to  procure  culinary  vegetables  in  the  spring. 
The  stock  of  cultivated  flower  roots  is  very  small,  and 
these  not  well  selected.  Gooseberries  and  currants  are 
scarce  and  small.  Cucumbers,  melons,  and  a  variety  of 
products  that  require  artificial  heat  in  Britain,  grow  here 
vigorously  in  the  open  air. 

Several  species  of  forest  trees  furnish  excellent  timber. 
The  white  oak  is  at  once  tough,  dense,  flexible,  and  easily 
split.  The  black  locust  is  strong,  heavy,  not  much  subject 
to  warping,  and  resists  the  effects  of  the  weather  for  a  long 
period  of  time.  This  sort  of  timber  resembles  laburnum 
more  than  any  that  you  are  acquainted  with.  White 
hickory  is  tough  and  elastic  in  a  high  degree,  and  is  the 
wood  in  general  use  for  handles  to  axes,  and  other  tools. 
Black  walnut  grows  to  a  great  size,  and  is  considered  a 


256  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

mark  of  the  excellence  of  the  soil  on  which  it  grows.  It  is 
lighter,  less  curled  in  its  texture,  and  probably  weaker  than 
that  of  England.  The  sugar-maple  is  curled  in  its  fibre, 
and  is  used  in  making  stocks  for  rifles.  White  or  water 
maple  is  also  curled,  of  a  fine  straw-colour,  and  is  some- 
times introduced  in  cabinet-work  with  much  effect. 
White  and  blue  ash  trees  are  easily  split,  pliant,  and  readily 
smoothed,  but  less  fit  to  bear  exposure  to  the  weather  than 
the  ash  of  Europe.  Poplar  grows  to  a  great  size,  and  is 
easily  converted  into  boards  or  scantling.  Red  cedar  is 
exceedingly  durable  as  posts  of  rail-fences,  and  grows  in 
great  abundance  by  Kentucky  river.  White  and  yellow 
pines,  similar  to  those  of  Canada,  are  brought  from  Alle- 
gany river,  and  are  now  sold  here,  in  boards,  at  a  cent  per 
square  foot. 

[230]  A  few  days  ago  I  witnessed  the  election  of  a  mem- 
ber of  Congress  for  the  State  of  Indiana. —  Members  for 
the  State  assembly  and  county  officers,  and  the  votes  for 
the  township  of  Jeffersonville,  were  taken  by  ballot  in 
one  day.  No  quarrels  or  disorder  occurred.  At  Louis- 
ville, in  Kentucky,  the  poll  was  kept  open  for  three  days. 
The  votes  were  given  viva  voce.  I  saw  three  fights  in  the 
course  of  an  hour.  This  method  appears  to  be  productive 
of  as  much  discord  here  as  in  England.  The  States 
Illinois,  Indiana,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  all  north  of 
the  latter,  vote  by  ballot,  and  the  southern  proceed  ver- 
bally.129 

m  Flint's  generalization  regarding  the  Southern  states  is  too  sweeping.  Vir- 
ginia and  Kentucky  were  the  only  commonwealths  in  which  the  people  voted 
viva-voce.  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Louisiana, 
authorized  the  written  ballot  in  their  constitutions,  and  in  South  Carolina  it  was 
established  by  statute.  The  use  of  the  ballot  was  a  custom  of  long  standing  in 
New  England,  Pennsylvania,  and  New  Jersey,  dating  from  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century.  In  New  York  it  was  introduced  as  an  experiment  in  1778, 
and  permanently  adopted  ten  years  later.  Virginia  changed  to  the  written 
ballot  for  all  popular  elections,  in  her  constitution  of  1864,  and  Kentucky  in  hers 
of  189 1 ;  so  that  at  present  it  is  universal  in  the  United  States. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  257 

The  sales  of  land  in  the  late  Indian  purchase  in  Indiana 
have  commenced  at  Jefferson ville. —  They  are  now  ex- 
posed by  auction  in  lots  of  half  quarter  sections,  (80  acres.) 
Only  a  very  small  part  of  the  quantity  offered  has  been 
sold.  The  price  obtained  is  almost  uniformly  a  dollar 
and  a  quarter  per  acre,  the  minimum  rate  now  established 
by  act  of  Congress.  A  few  lots  which  present  superior 
local  advantages  have  sold  higher.  I  know  of  one,  with 
an  excellent  mill-seat,  that  gave  three  dollars  per  acre. 
The  lands  offered,  but  not  sold  at  the  present  auction, 
may  afterwards  be  privately  purchased  at  the  land-office 
for  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  per  acre.  No  credit  is  given  to 
those  who  buy  public  lands.  The  purchasers,  whose  lands 
were  by  law  forfeited  for  non-payment,  have  got  another 
year's  indulgence,  but  this  act  of  lenity  does  not  extend  to 
those  who  are  not  actual  settlers.  Quarter  sections  are 
divided  into  half  quarters,  by  south  and  north  lines.  A 
considerable  number  of  back-woodsmen,  who  had  pre- 
viously taken  possession  of  lands  in  the  new  purchase, 
attended  the  public  sales  for  about  a  week.  During  the 
night  they  lodged  in  a  joiner's  shed,  which  [231]  is  a  mere 
temporary  roof,  composed  of  loose  boards,  for  the  purpose 
of  sheltering  workmen  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun. 

I  lately  returned  from  visiting  the  camp  meeting  of 
Wesleyan  methodists,  where  I  remained  about  twenty- 
four  hours.  On  approaching  the  scene  of  action,  the 
number  of  horses  tied  to  fences  and  trees,  and  the  travel- 
ling waggons  standing  in  the  environs,  convinced  me  of  the 
great  magnitude  of  the  assemblage.  Immediately  round 
the  meeting  a  considerable  number  of  tents  were  irregu- 
larly disposed.  Some  of  them  were  log  cabins  that  seemed 
to  have  served  several  campaigns,  but  most  of  them 
constructed  by  poles,  covered  over  with  coarse  tow 
cloth. 


258  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

These  tents  are  for  the  accommodation  of  the  people  who 
attend  the  worship  for  several  days,  or  for  a  week  together. 
I  had  no  sooner  got  a  sight  of  the  area  within,  than  I  was 
struck  with  surprise,  my  feet  were  for  a  moment  involun- 
tarily arrested,  while  I  gazed  on  a  preacher  vociferating 
from  a  high  rostrum,  raised  between  two  trees,  and  an 
agitated  crowd  immediately  before  him,  that  were  making 
a  loud  noise,  and  the  most  singular  gesticulations  which 
can  be  imagined.  On  advancing  a  few  paces,  I  discovered 
that  the  turmoil  was  chiefly  confined  within  a  small  in- 
closure  of  about  thirty  feet  square,  in  front  of  the  orator, 
and  that  the  ground  occupied  by  the  congregation  was 
laid  with  felled  trees  for  seats.  A  rail  fence  divided  it 
into  two  parts,  one  for  females,  and  the  other  for  males. 
It  was  my  misfortune  to  enter  by  the  wrong  side,  and  I 

was  politely  informed  of  the  mistake  by  a  Colonel  P , 

of  my  acquaintance,  who,  it  appeared,  had  undertaken 
the  duty  of  keeping  the  males  apart  from  the  females. 
The  inclosure  already  mentioned  was  for  the  reception 
of  those  who  undergo  religious  awakenings,  and  was  [232] 
filled  by  both  sexes,  who  were  exercising  violently.  Shout- 
ing, screaming,  clapping  of  hands,  leaping,  jerking,  fall- 
ing, and  swooning.  The  preacher  could  not  be  distinctly 
heard,  great  as  his  exertions  were ;  certainly  had  it  not  been 
for  his  elevated  position,  his  voice  would  have  been  entirely 
blended  with  the  clamours  below.  I  took  my  stand  close 
by  the  fence,  for  the  purpose  of  noting  down  exclamations 
uttered  by  the  exercised,  but  found  myself  unable  to  pick 
up  any  thing  like  a  distinct  paragraph. —  Borrowing  an 
idea  from  the  Greek  mythology,  to  have  a  distinct  per- 
ception of  sounds,  poured  from  such  a  multitude  of  bel- 
lowing mouths,  would  require  the  ear  of  Jove. —  I  had  to 
content  myself  with  such  vociferations  as  glory,  glory, 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  259 

power,  Jesus  Christ, —  with  "groans  and  woes  unutter- 
able." 

In  the  afternoon  a  short  cessation  was  allowed  for 
dinner,  and  those  deeply  affected  were  removed  to  tents 
and  laid  on  the  ground.  This  new  arrangement  made 
a  striking  change  in  the  camp,  the  bustle  being  removed 
from  the  centre  and  distributed  along  the  outskirts  of  the 
preaching  ground.  Separate  tents,  in  which  one  or  more 
persons  were  laid,  were  surrounded  by  females  who  sung 
melodiously.  It  is  truly  delightful  to  hear  these  sweet 
singing  people.  Some  of  their  tunes,  it  is  true,  did  not 
convey,  through  my  prejudiced  ears,  the  solemn  impres- 
sions that  become  religious  worship,  for  I  recognised  sev- 
eral of  the  airs  associated  with  the  sentimental  songs  of 
my  native  land.  In  one  instance  a  tent  was  dismantled 
of  its  tow  cloth  covering,  which  discovered  a  female  almost 
motionless.  After  a  choir  of  girls  around  her,  had  sung 
for  a  few  minutes,  two  men  stood  over  her,  and  simulta- 
neously joined  in  prayer.  One  of  them,  [233]  gifted  with 
a  loud  and  clear  voice,  drowned  the  other  totally,  and 
actually  prayed  him  down. 

After  dinner  another  orator  took  his  place.  The  in- 
closure  was  again  filled  with  the  penitent,  or  with  others 
wishing  to  become  so,  and  a  vast  congregation  arranged 
themselves  on  their  seats  in  the  rear.  A  most  pathetic 
prayer  was  poured  forth,  and  a  profound  silence  reigned 
over  all  the  camp,  except  the  fenced  inclosure,  from  whence 
a  low  hollow  murmuring  sound  issued.  Now  and  then, 
Amen  was  articulated  in  a  pitiful  and  indistinct  tone  of 
voice.  You  have  seen  a  menagerie  of  wild  animals  on  a 
journey,  and  have  perhaps  heard  the  king  of  beasts,  and 
other  powerful  quadrupeds,  excited  to  grumbling  by  the 
jolting  of  the  waggon.     Probably  you  will  call  this  a  rude 


260  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

simile;  but  it  is  the  most  accurate  that  I  can  think  of. 
Sermon  commenced.  The  preacher  announced  his  deter- 
mination of  discontinuing  his  labours  in  this  part  of  the 
world,  and  leaving  his  dear  brethren  for  ever.  He  addressed 
the  old  men  present,  telling  them  that  they  and  he  must 
soon  be  removed  from  this  mortal  state  of  existence,  and 
that  the  melancholy  reflection  arose  in  his  mind, — ' '  What 
will  become  0]  the  church  when  we  are  dead  and  gone?" — 
A  loud  response  of  groaning  and  howling  was  sounded  by 
the  aged  in  the  inclosure,  and  throughout  the  congregation. 
He  next  noticed  that  he  saw  a  multitude  of  young  men 
before  him,  and,  addressing  himself  to  them,  said,  '  \  I  trust 
in  God,  that  many  of  you  will  be  now  converted,  and 
will  become  the  preachers  and  the  pious  Christians  of 
after  days." — The  clamour  now  thickened,  for  young  and 
old  shouted  together.  Turning  his  eyes  toward  the  female 
side  of  the  fence,  he  continued,  "And  you,  my  [234]  dear 
sisters." —  What  he  had  farther  to  say  to  the  future  "nurs- 
ing mothers  of  the  church,"  could  not  be  heard,  for  the 
burst  of  acclamation,  on  their  part,  completely  prevented 
his  voice  from  being  heard,  on  which  account  he  with- 
drew; and  a  tune  was  struck  up  and  sung  with  grand 
enthusiasm.  The  worship  now  proceeded  with  a  new  en- 
ergy; the  prompter  in  the  pulpit  had  succeeded  in  giving 
it  an  impulse,  and  the  music  was  sufficient  to  preserve 
emotion.  The  inclosure  was  so  much  crowded  that  its 
inmates  had  not  the  liberty  of  lateral  motion,  but  were 
literally  hobbling  en  masse.  My  attention  was  particu- 
larly directed  to  a  girl  of  about  twelve  years  of  age,  who 
while  standing  could  not  be  seen  over  her  taller  neigh- 
bours; but  at  every  leap  she  was  conspicuous  above  them. 
The  velocity  of  every  plunge  made  her  long  loose  hair  flirt 
up  as  if  a  handkerchief  were  held  by  one  of  its  corners 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  261 

and  twitched  violently.  Another  female,  who  had  arrived 
at  womanhood,  was  so  much  overcome  that  she  was  held 
up  to  the  breeze  by  two  persons  who  went  to  her  relief. 
I  never  before  saw  such  exhaustion.  The  vertebral  column 
was  completely  pliant,  her  body,  her  neck,  and  her  ex- 
tended arms,  bent  in  every  direction  successively.  It 
would  be  impossible  to  describe  the  diversity  of  cases;  they 
were  not  now  confined  within  the  fence,  but  were  numerous 
among  the  people  without.  Only  a  small  proportion  of 
them  could  fall  within  the  observation  of  any  one  by- 
stander.   The  scene  was  to  me  equally  novel  and  curious. 

About  dusk  I  retired  several  hundred  yards  into  the 
woods  to  enjoy  the  distant  effect  of  the  meeting.  Female 
voices  were  mournfully  predominant,  and  my  imagina- 
tion figured  to  me  a  multitude  of  mothers,  widows,  and 
sisters,  giving  the  [235]  first  vent  to  their  grief,  in  bewailing 
the  loss  of  a  male  population,  by  war,  shipwreck,  or  some 
other  great  catastrophe. 

It  had  been  thought  proper  to  place  sentinels  without 
the  camp.  Females  were  not  allowed  to  pass  out  into 
the  woods  after  dark.  Spirituous  liquors  were  not  per- 
mitted to  be  sold  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Large  fires  of  timber  were  kindled,  which  cast  a  new 
lustre  on  every  object.  The  white  tents  gleamed  in  the 
glare.  Over  them  the  dusky  woods  formed  a  most  ro- 
mantic gloom,  only  the  tall  trunks  of  the  front  rank  were 
distinctly  visible,  and  these  seemed  so  many  members  of 
a  lofty  colonnade.  The  illuminated  camp  lay  on  a  decliv- 
ity, and  exposed  a  scene  that  suggested  to  my  mind  the 
moonlight  gambols  of  beings  known  to  us  only  through 
the  fictions  of  credulous  ages.  The  greatest  turmoil  pre- 
vailed within  the  fence,  where  the  inmates  were  leaping 
and  khobbling  together  with  upward  looks  and  extended 


262  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

arms.  Around  this  busy  mass,  the  crowd  formed  a  thicker 
ring  than  the  famous  Macedonian  phalanx;  and  among 
them,  a  mixture  of  the  exercised  were  interspersed.  Most 
faces  were  turned  inward  to  gaze  on  the  grand  exhibition, 
the  rear  ranks  on  tip-toe,  to  see  over  those  in  front  of 
them,  and  not  a  few  mounted  on  the  log-seats,  to  have  a 
more  commanding  view  of  the  show.  People  were  con- 
stantly passing  out  and  into  the  ring  in  brisk  motion,  so 
that  the  white  drapery  of  females,  and  the  darker  appaTel 
of  the  men  were  alternately  vanishing  and  reappearing  in 
the  most  elegant  confusion.  The  sublimity  of  the  music 
served  to  give  an  enchanting  effect  to  the  whole.  My 
mind  involuntarily  reverted  to  the  leading  feature  of  the 
tale  of  Alloway  Kirk:  [236] 

"Warlocks  and  witches  in  a  dance; 

Where  Tarn  o'Shanter 

Stood  like  ane  bewitch'd, 


And  thought  his  very  een  enrich'd." 

Late  in  the  evening  a  man  detached  himself  from  the 
crowd,  walking  rapidly  backward  and  forward,  and  cry- 
ing aloud.  His  vociferations  were  of  this  kind:  "I  have 
been  a  great  sinner,  and  was  on  the  way  to  be  damned; 
but  am  converted  now,  thank  God  —  glory,  glory!"  He 
turned  round  on  his  heel  occasionally,  giving  a  loud  whoop. 
A  gentleman  with  whom  I  am  well  acquainted,  told  me 
that  he  had  a  conversation  with  a  female  who  had  just 
recovered  from  the  debility  of  the  day.  She  could  give 
no  other  account  of  her  sensations  than  that  she  felt  so 
good,  that  she  could  press  her  very  enemy  to  her  bosom. 

At  half  past  two  A.M.  I  got  into  a  tent,  stretched  my- 
self on  the  ground,  and  was  soon  lulled  asleep  by  the 
music.    About  five  I  was  awakened  by  the  unceasing 


1818-1820]       Flint9 s  Letters  from  America  263 

melody.  At  seven,  preaching  was  resumed ;  and  a  lawyer 
residing  in  the  neighbourhood  gave  a  sermon  of  a  legal 
character. 

At  nine  the  meeting  adjourned  to  breakfast.  A  multi- 
tude of  small  fires  being  previously  struck  up,  an  exten- 
sive cooking  process  commenced,  and  the  smell  of  bacon 
tainted  the  air.  I  took  this  opportunity  of  reconnoitring 
the  evacuated  field.  The  little  inclosure,  so  often  men- 
tioned, is  by  the  religious  called  Altar,  and  some  scoffers  are 
wicked  enough  to  call  it  Pen,  from  its  similarity  to  the 
structures  in  which  hogs  are  confined.  Its  area  was  cov- 
ered over  with  straw,  in  some  parts  more  wetted  than  the 
litter  of  a  stable.  If  it  could  be  ascertained  that  all  this 
moisture  was  from  the  tears  of  the  penitent,  the  fact  would 
be  a  surprising  one.  Waving  all  inquiry  into  this  phe- 
nomenon, [237]  however,  the  incident  now  recorded  may 
be  held  forth  as  a  very  suitable  counterpart  to  a  wonderful 
story  recorded  by  the  Methodistic  oracle  Lorenzo  Dow, 
of  a  heavy  shower  drenching  a  neighbourhood,  while  a 
small  speck  including  a  camp  meeting  was  passed  over 
and  left  entirely  dry.  In  Lorenzo's  case,  the  rain  fell  all 
round  the  camp,  but  in  that  noticed  by  me,  the  moisture 
was  in  the  very  centre. 

You  can  form  no  adequate  idea  of  a  camp  meeting 
from  any  description  which  can  be  given  of  it.  Any  one 
who  would  have  a  complete  view  of  enthusiasm  can  only 
obtain  it  by  visiting  such  a  meeting  and  seeing  it  himself. 
I  should  be  sorry  to  abuse  the  Methodist  sect  by  the  illib- 
eral application  of  such  terms  as  fanaticism,  superstition, 
or  illusion.  I  have  known  many  of  them  who  are  valuable 
members  of  society,  and  several  who  have  rendered  im- 
portant services  to  their  country,  but  have  not  seen  any  one 
prostrated,  or  even  visibly  affected,  at  the  camp  meeting 


264  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

or  elsewhere,  whom  I  knew  to  be  men  of  strong  minds  or 
of  much  intelligence.  Females  seem  to  be  more  suscep- 
tible of  the  impressions  than  men  are.  A  quality  perhaps 
that  is  to  be  imputed  to  the  greater  sensibility  of  their 
feelings. 

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*J*  *p  5p  *J*  5|*  5JC  5|C 

The  awakenings  in  Kentucky  that  were  some  years  ago 
hailed  by  the  religious  magazines  of  your  country  as  the 
workings  of  the  Divine  Spirit,  [238]  must  have  been  those 
that  occurred  at  camp  meetings  of  Methodists.  These 
assemblages  are  now  said  to  be  on  the  decline  in  Kentucky; 
and  when  meetings  were  held  on  a  grand  scale  there,  many 
disorders  were  committed  by  immoral  persons,  tending  to 
the  great  scandal  of  religion,  and  occasioning  the  precau- 
tionary measures  already  noticed  in  this  detail. 


LETTER  XX 

Circumstances  that  retard  Manufacturing  Industry,  and 
Causes  of  its  prosperity 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,)  Aug.  15,  1820. 
In  my  letter  of  the  26th  of  June  last,  I  mentioned  that 
mechanics  were  leaving  the  towns  of  the  western  country, 
becoming  cultivators  in  the  back  woods.  In  many  cases, 
their  former  habits  are  such  as  are  not  well  calculated  to 
reconcile  them  with  their  new  situations.  It  appears  evi- 
dent that  such  people,  placed  in  the  forests,  cannot  for 
some  time  raise  a  quantity  of  produce  sufficient  to  procure 
in  exchange  such  foreign  luxuries  as  they  formerly  con- 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  265 

sumed,  and  such  articles  of  imported  dress  as  they  have 
been  accustomed  to  wear.  The  former  may  be  easily 
dispensed  with,  but  for  the  latter  a  substitute  must  be  pro- 
vided. Family  manufacture  is  the  obvious  resource;  but 
it  must  proceed  slowly  in  cases  where  the  females  are  not 
acquainted  with  this  branch  of  industry,  and  [239]  in  the 
uncleared  woods,  which  are  not  suitable  pastures  for 
sheep.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments are  not  erected,  as  these  would  not  only  furnish 
employment  more  congenial  to  the  habits  of  artizans,  and 
preserve  to  them  their  wonted  accommodations,  but  would 
be  of  vast  national  importance  under  the  present  circum- 
stances of  America. 

I  trust  that  a  brief  exposition  of  a  few  of  the  principal 
causes  which  retard  manufacturing  industry,  and  of  the 
means  of  promoting  it,  in  this  country,  will  not  be  unac- 
ceptable to  you;  especially  as  the  policy  of  America,  on 
that  subject,  affects  at  once  the  interests  of  both  coun- 
tries. 

The  primary  obstacle  that  has  hitherto  prevented  Amer- 
icans from  fabricating  their  own  necessaries,  from  the  pro- 
ducts of  their  own  country,  is  universally  acknowledged  to 
be  an  extensive  intercourse  with  Great  Britain,  in  export- 
ing produce,  and  importing  manufactured  goods  in  return; 
—  a  correspondence  that  subjects  American  artisans  to  a 
competition  with  a  country  in  which  wages  are  low,  labour 
subdivided,  and  in  which  the  most  stupendous  mechanical 
apparatus  is  employed. 

The  indecision  which  has  heretofore  characterized  the 
conduct  of  the  United  States,  with  regard  to  manufac- 
tures, seems  to  have  originated  in  the  diversity  of  inter- 
ests represented  in  the  government.  The  people  of  the 
southern  States  are,  for  several  reasons,  averse  to  making 


266  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  o 

concessions  for  procuring  home-made  goods.  They  are 
comparatively  little  devoted  to  mechanical  pursuits,  and 
still  less  acquainted  with  the  diversified  operations  of 
workshops.  Their  negroes  are  seldom  trained  to  any 
thing  but  agricultural  and  menial  services,  and  the  [240] 
condition  of  these  labourers  is  otherwise  unfavourable  to 
the  acquisition  of  skill  in  new  employments.  This  part 
of  the  country,  besides,  exports  large  quantities  of  cotton, 
tobacco,  and  rice,  articles  that  do  not  excite  the  jealousy 
of  the  landed  interest  in  Britain;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
almost  enjoy  a  monopoly  of  the  British  market.  It  is 
plain  that  the  people  who  possess  advantages  of  this  kind, 
have  it  more  in  their  power  to  continue  traffic  with  Eng- 
land than  their  northern  neighbours,  whose  produce  is 
excluded  by  the  corn  laws  of  that  country,  which  have 
been  wisely  enacted. 

Traders  who  have  capital  vested  in  ships,  and  in  the 
importation  of  manufactured  goods,  form  a  class  that  is 
more  interested  in  opposing  an  independent  system  than 
any  other.  Though  their  influence  in  Congress  appears 
to  be  declining,  some  time  must  elapse  before  their  funds 
can  be  directed  to  other  pursuits. 

The  import  duties  on  foreign  manufactures,  high  as  in 
most  cases  they  appear  to  be,  have  not  the  effect  of  pro- 
tecting American  artizans  from  competition  with  those  of 
other  countries,  who  work  cheaper.  This  disadvantage  has 
been  produced  by  the  profuse  issues  of  a  paper  currency. 
Money  of  this  sort  not  taking  the  market  abroad,  it  re- 
mains in  the  country,  where  it  operates  against  industry, 
by  augmenting  the  nominal  price  of  labour.  Hence  people 
are  complaining  of  want  of  employment,  while  they  de- 
pend on  the  labour  of  foreigners  for  almost  every  artificial 
modification  of  the  materials  raised  on  their  own  soil,  or 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  267 

that  lie  unheeded  under  their  feet.  Import  duties  are  not 
to  be  considered  merely  as  enactments  for  promoting 
American  manufactures,  for  they  constitute  the  principal 
source  of  national  revenue.  It  might  be  difficult  to  form 
a  conception  of  a  revenue  [241]  that  could  be  collected  at 
less  expense,  or  of  taxation  raised  in  a  more  voluntary 
manner  on  the  part  of  the  people.  But  as  moderating 
these  duties  must  unquestionably,  on  every  occasion,  be 
injurious  to  home  industry,  and  as  augmenting  them  to 
the  extent  of  the  total  prohibition  of  foreign  goods  would 
introduce  smuggling,  the  two  objects  of  the  system  are 
in  some  degree  incompatible  in  the  present  state  of  money 
affairs. 

The  capital  vested  in  uncultivated  lands,  is  a  mere 
dormant  stock  which  cannot  be  applied  to  such  active 
employments  as  the  erection  of  workshops,  machinery, 
and  other  outlays  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  man- 
ufactories, unless  it  is  replaced  by  other  funds.  Neither 
is  it  so  easy  to  procure  money  as  formerly  by  mortgaging 
cultivated  lands,  now  when  the  prices  of  produce  are  so  low. 

The  expedients  resorted  to,  in  keeping  base  money  in 
circulation,  are,  with  respect  to  manufacturing  interests, 
as  impolitic  as  they  are,  in  fact,  unjust.  Bankers,  who 
are  virtually  insolvent,  are  to  be  ranked  amongst  the 
opposers  of  manufacturers,  as  it  must  be  impossible  for 
such  men  to  contemplate  the  reduction  of  the  quantity  of 
money  so  essential  to  industry,  without  dreading  the  retri- 
bution that  awaits  them. 

The  present  condition  of  the  United  States  is  well  suited 
to  convince  the  people  of  the  expediency  of  making  exer- 
tions for  supplying  their  own  wants.  Europe  is  no  longer 
to  be  relied  on  as  a  market  for  their  produce,  and  Great 
Britain  in  particular  has  in  effect  excluded  the  grain  and 


268  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

the  timber  of  the  United  States  from  her  markets,  and 
prohibits  Americans  from  trading  with  her  West  India 
colonies.  Since  these  restrictions  have  taken  place,  great 
quantities  of  British  manufactures  have  been  imported 
into  America,  and  the  course  [242]  of  exchange  has  shown, 
that  a  large  money  balance  has  arisen  in  favour  of  Britain. 
Some  persons  interested  in  the  traffic,  infer  the  prosperity 
of  the  United  States  from  their  being  able  to  pay  a  balance 
of  trade.  Though  general  doctrines  of  this  kind  are  sanc- 
tioned by  several  great  economists,  on  the  broad  principle 
that  an  exportation  of  money  indicates  a  corresponding 
importation  of  property,  or  in  other  words,  an  accumula- 
tion of  wealth;  before  adopting  an  assumption  of  this 
kind  in  any  particular  case,  it  may  be  safe  to  inquire 
whether  the  import  consist  of  articles,  which  are  perma- 
nently beneficial,  or  of  luxuries  either  of  the  more  perish- 
able kinds,  or  of  those  more  conducive  to  ornament  than 
utility.  With  regard  to  the  late  imports  of  the  United 
States,  it  is  thought  sufficient  to  notice  that  they  have  not 
furnished  the  ability  to  continue  them  in  their  usual 
amount. 

Farther,  nothing  can  be  more  plain  than  the  necessity 
of  abridging  the  quantity  of  paper  money  in  circulation; 
and  when  this  is  done  to  a  sufficient  extent,  foreigners  will 
find  it  impossible  to  procure  dollars  here  on  terms  so  easy 
as  formerly.  Were  money  rendered  so  scarce,  that  it 
would  command  three  or  four  times  the  quantity  of  the 
necessaries  of  life  that  it  does  now,  foreign  labour  would 
be  excluded,  and  the  American  labourer,  with  a  third  or  a 
fourth  part  of  his  present  nominal  wages,  would  find  the 
only  changes  in  his  condition  to  be  a  greater  demand  for 
his  work,  and  an  immediate  enlargement  of  his  resources. 
The  farmer  would  eventually  find  the  means  of  increasing 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  269 

his  produce,  and  the  advantage  of  a  home  market;  and 
capitalists  now  engaged  in  foreign  commerce,  would  find 
employment  for  their  funds  in  manufactures.  Fortu- 
nately the  impolitic  course  latterly  [243]  pursued  is  leading 
to  its  own  correction.  Specie  is  seldom  to  be  seen  in 
the  ordinary  transactions  of  business,  except  in  small 
worn  pieces  of  inferior  denominations,  and  cut  money, 
from  which  a  portion  of  the  metal  has  been  fraudulently 
abstracted.  The  deficiency  in  weight  prevents  this  part 
of  the  currency  from  being  exported  in  direct  payments, 
and  nothing  but  the  recent  depreciation  of  paper  seems 
to  prevent  these  remnants  of  silver  from  being  disposed 
of  as  bullion. 

In  former  times,  when  Europe  furnished  a  market  for 
almost  every  kind  of  produce,  the  strongest  inducements 
to  agricultural  industry  prevailed.  The  fertility  and  the 
vast  extent  of  the  United  States  enabled  cultivators  to 
increase  in  numbers,  in  a  manner  that  would  have  produced 
a  disagreeable  competition,  in  a  more  thickly  peopled 
country;  but  the  recent  state  of  commercial  affairs  shows 
that  America  is  not  wide  enough  to  prevent  the  inconve- 
niences of  competition  in  a  narrow  market.  The  neces- 
sity of  a  new  distribution  of  pursuits  becomes  every  day 
more  apparent,  as  without  it  the  people  cannot  enjoy 
the  articles  of  comfort  and  luxury  hitherto  imported. 
Some  of  the  most  popular  newspapers  now  advocate  the 
cause  of  manufactures,  and  several  public  societies  take 
a  deep  interest  in  promoting  the  internal  prosperity  of  the 
country.  The  society  at  Philadelphia  for  promoting 
American  manufactures,130  have  in  some  of  their  papers 

mo  Tkg  Philadelphia  Society  for  Promoting  Domestic  Manufactures,  organ- 
ized in  1803,  with  Stephen  Girard  as  president,  was  incorporated  in  1805.  A 
central  warehouse  was  established,  where  articles  of  American  manufacture  could 


270  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

reasoned  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prove  that  they  possess 
a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  subject,  both  of  its 
effects  on  national  wealth,  and  of  manufacturing  business. 
The  resolutions  of  the  society  lately  instituted  at  Cincin- 
nati for  the  promotion  of  agriculture,  manufactures,  and 
domestic  economy,  are  subjoined,  [244]  as  a  mark  of  the 
patriotic  spirt  that  now  prevails.131  The  committee  of 
this  society  consists  of  people  of  the  greatest  wealth  and 
influence  in  the  city  and  neighbourhood. 

Of  the  essays  in  favour  of  manufactures  which  have 
been  published,  it  may  be  observed  generally,  that  they 

be  concentrated  and  sold,  thus  doing  away  with  the  expense  of  middlemen. 
The  society  was  active  in  advocating  a  protective  tariff. 

The  Cincinnati  Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Agriculture,  Manufactures,  and 
Domestic  Economy  was  organized  in  1819.  Quarterly  meetings  were  held,  and 
prizes  offered  for  the  best  essays  on  subjects  relating  to  agriculture  and  domestic 
manufactures. —  Ed. 

131  "15/.  We  will  not  purchase,  or  suffer  to  be  used  in  our  families,  any  im- 
ported liquors,  fruits,  nuts,  or  preserves  of  any  kind,  unless  they  shall  be  re- 
quired in  cases  of  sickness. 

' '  2d.  Being  convinced,  that  the  practice  which  generally  prevails  of  wearing 
suits  of  black  as  testimonials  of  respect  for  the  memory  of  deceased  friends,  is 
altogether  useless,  if  not  improper,  while  it  is  attended  with  a  heavy  expense;  we 
will  not  sanction  it  hereafter  in  our  families,  or  encourage  it  in  others. 

"3d.  We  will  not  purchase,  for  ourselves  or  our  families,  such  articles  of 
dress  as  are  expensive,  and  are  generally  considered  as  ornamental  rather  than 
useful. 

*  *  4th.  We  will  abstain  from  the  use  of  imported  goods  of  every  description,  as 
far  as  may  be  practicable,  and  we  will  give  a  preference  to  articles  that  are  of  the 
growth  and  manufacture  of  our  own  country,  when  the  latter  can  be  procured. 

lt$th.  We  will  not  purchase  any  articles,  either  of  food  or  dress,  at  prices 
that  are  considered  extravagant,  or  that  the  citizens  generally  cannot  afford  to 
pay;  but  will  rather  abstain  from  the  use  of  such  articles  until  they  can  be  ob- 
tained at  reasonable  prices. 

1 '  6th.  We  will  observe  a  rigid  economy  in  every  branch  of  our  expenditures, 
and  will,  in  all  our  purchases,  be  influenced  by  necessity  rather  than  convenience, 
and  by  utility  rather  than  ornament. 

"7th.  We  believe  that  the  prosperity  of  the  country  depends  in  a  great  de- 
gree on  a  general  and  faithful  observance  of  the  foregoing  declaration;  we  there- 
fore promise  that  we  will  adhere  to  it  ourselves,  and  that  we  will  recommend  it 
to  others." — Farnsworth's  Cincinnati  Directory. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  271 

recommend  the  adoption  of  higher  import  duties.  That 
these  have  not  been  resorted  to,  need  excite  no  surprise, 
as  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  has  shown  that  an  increase 
of  duties  must  be  followed  by  a  decrease  of  national  rev- 
enue, [245]  and  as  the  ultimate  substitute,  internal  taxa- 
tion, would  probably  be  unpopular,  although  imposed  with 
the  most  sparing  hand.  The  spontaneous  decrease  in 
the  amount  of  money  capital  now  going  on,  does  not  seem 
to  be  duly  appreciated ;  —  an  occurrence  that  is  evidently 
well  calculated  to  give  an  impulse  to  American  industry. 

When  the  United  States  shall  abandon  the  spurious 
money  now  in  circulation,  and  proceed  on  a  smaller  but 
more  substantial  capital,  a  new  era  of  national  prosperity 
will  commence.  The  government  will  be  freed  from  the 
danger,  or  rather  the  certainty,  of  losing  the  revenue  by  a 
smuggled  trade,  and  will  feel  less  necessity  for  resorting 
to  restrictive  regulations.  A  less  sum  of  money  will  be 
sufficient  to  defray  the  public  expenses.  The  consequent 
cheapness  of  labour  will  give  the  agriculturist  new  ad- 
vantages in  foreign  markets,  and  develop  in  a  new  de- 
gree the  natural  resources  of  the  country.  The  home 
market,  occasioned  by  a  manufacturing  population,  will 
be  secure,  as  being  beyond  the  reach  of  foreign  govern- 
ments, whose  caprice  is  hostile  to  the  security  of  American 
trade.  Whenever  the  country  shall  be  able  to  manufacture 
the  whole,  or  the  greater  part  of  its  necessaries,  the  ex- 
ports of  produce  must  be  attended  with  an  importation  of 
specie.  The  ingress  of  foreign  capitalists  may  also  be 
calculated  on  as  one  of  the  effects  to  be  produced  by  the 
change  of  system. 

The  introduction  of  manufactures  must  promote  in- 
ternal improvements,  as  the  making  of  roads  and  the  con- 
struction of  works,  for  facilitating  inland  navigation.    The 


272  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

country  will  be  rendered  capable  of  supporting  a  greater 
population  than  it  can  under  the  present  system,  thereby 
removing  much  of  the  inconvenience  that  attends  their 
present  settlements;  [246]  better  opportunities  for  mental 
improvement,  and  the  means  of  more  prompt  national 
defence,  will  be  acquired;  foreign  commerce  and  foreign 
relations  will  be  abridged,  so  that  the  hazard  of  hostilities 
with  other  countries  may  be  greatly  lessened.  A  small 
shipping  trade  evidently  requires  less  naval  protection 
than  an  extensive  foreign  commerce,  and  the  retrenchment 
may  perhaps  admit  of  some  relaxation  in  the  present  con- 
struction of  ships  of  war.  The  reverses  so  frequently 
injurious  to  the  manufacturers  of  Britain  are  less  to  be 
dreaded  in  the  United  States.  While  their  manufactures 
do  not  exceed  their  own  wants,  it  will  always  be  practi- 
cable to  prevent  the  home  market  from  being  overstocked, 
and  while  the  vacant  back  woods  are  held  in  reserve,  a 
manufacturing  population  need  not  be  reduced  to  pauper- 
ism by  the  want  of  a  foreign  market  for  their  fabrics. 

The  erection  of  manufacturing  establishments  was  rec- 
ommended some  time  ago  by  intelligent  citizens,  who  fore- 
saw that  the  money  capital  of  the  country  could  not  long 
supply  the  great  efflux  of  specie.  Now,  a  change  of  policy 
becomes  a  matter  of  necessity.  It  is  chiefly  to  be  regretted 
several  State  legislatures  are  too  active  in  forcing  the  circu- 
lation of  degraded  money;  —  a  procedure  which,  in  the 
meantime,  retards  the  natural  subsidence  of  the  convul- 
sion, and  keeps  property  out  of  the  hands  of  its  real  owners. 
However  far  they  may  succeed  in  procuring  indemnity  for 
past  peculations,  their  efforts  must  be  impotent  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  future  interests  of  mankind.  The  paper  cur- 
rency that  they  strive  to  support  falls  in  spite  of  their 
utmost  exertions.     I  now  find  that  my  expense  of  living  or 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  273 

of  travelling  is  nominally  the  same  that  it  was  in  the  autumn 
of  181 8.  At  that  time  I  paid  in  specie,  or  in  money, 
which  [247]  was  considered  as  nearly  equivalent  to  it, 
but  of  late  I  have  on  various  occasions  found  that  paper 
is  accepted  which  is  50  per  cent,  worse  than  silver.  A 
person  who  collected  a  salary  to  the  amount  of  about  eight 
hundred  dollars,  told  me  that  he  had  received  only  five 
dollars  of  that  sum  in  specie.  You  can  easily  perceive 
that,  under  this  state  of  things,  very  few  will  give  specie  to 
the  tavern-keeper,  grocer,  or  others,  while  he  can  pre- 
viously procure  for  it  one  and  a  half  times,  or  twice  its 
nominal  amount,  in  what  is  called  current  paper.  Most 
of  the  small  towns  have  a  person  who  follows  the  business 
of  money  changing;  and  merchants  and  other  persons 
transact  in  that  way,  so  that  specie  is  almost  entirely  with- 
drawn from  retail  business,  and  applied  to  the  purchase 
of  public  lands,  or  other  objects,  for  which  depreciated 
paper  would  not  be  accepted  of  in  payment.  Under  this 
condition,  an  unsettled  or  precarious  sort  of  internal  trade 
is  carried  on,  but  it  is  impossible  to  import  foreign  goods 
as  formerly. 

The  want  of  employment  is  another  strong  inducement 
to  adopt  an  independent  system  of  economy,  but  a  cum- 
brous load  of  paper  money  presses  industry  to  the  earth. 
It  is  found  by  experience  that  the  farmer  cannot  pay  125 
cents  per  day  to  the  labourer,  and  sell  his  corn  for  25  cents 
per  bushel,  nor  can  the  labourer  work  for  a  small  hire 
while  he  pays  two  and  a  half,  or  three  dollars  a-week  for 
his  board,  and  an  extravagant  price  for  his  clothing.  Sim- 
ilar obstacles  occur  in  almost  every  branch  of  industry 
that  furnishes  anything  for  exportation,  or  comes  into 
competition  with  the  labour  of  foreign  artizans,  so  that 
the  operations  of  this  country  now  consist  chiefly  of  works 


274  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

of  first  necessity.  A  gentleman  who  has  opportunities  of 
being  well  acquainted  with  the  [248]  business  of  Philadel- 
phia, has  computed  that  in  that  county  alone,  there  are  at 
least  15,000  persons  who  are  either  entirely  idle  or  are  en- 
gaged in  unproductive  labour.  He  stated  that  he  has  had 
more  than  twenty  applications  for  employment,  when  he 
could  give  work  only  to  one,  and  that  several  other  manu- 
facturers say,  that  they  cannot  employ  a  tenth  part  of  the 
applicants  they  meet  with.  The  same  gentleman  esti- 
mates that  there  are  about  150,000  unemployed  persons 
along  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  that  there  are  350,000  persons 
of  the  same  description  in  other  parts  of  the  country.182 
It  is  not  pretended  that  these  enumerations  are  de- 
rived from  accurate  data,  or  that  they  are  even  very  close 
approximations  to  the  real  numbers;  but,  taken  in  connec- 
tion with  other  well  known  facts,  they  may  be  received 
as  satisfactory  evidence  that  the  evil  exists  to  a  very  con- 
siderable extent.138 


m  Letter  to  the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  John  Melish,  Esq.  Phil. 
1818.—  Flint. 

m  From  the  paucity  of  the  circumstances  attended  to  in  statistical  inquiries, 
the  most  superficial  observer  might  infer  that  national  pride  is  sufficiently  grati- 
fied by  the  number  of  human  beings,  without  regard  to  that  of  useful  or  efficient 
citizens,  and  that  governments  are  satisfied  with  knowing  little  more  of  their 
people  than  that  they  die,  and  that  they  were  born.  It  were  to  be  wished  that 
enumerations  were  made  annually,  instead  of  at  the  usual  long  intervals  of  time; 
and  in  addition  to  the  particulars  ordinarily  ascertained,  such  were  embraced  as, 
the  number  of  those  who  can  show  that  they  procure  their  subsistence  by  lawful 
means;  those  who  have  fixed  residences;  those  who  have  received  a  moral  edu- 
cation; the  nature  of  employments;  the  duration  and  immediate  causes  of  their 
avocations;  bankruptcies;  convictions  for  specified  crimes;  the  known  or  proxi- 
mate causes  of  deaths;  cases  of  lunacy;  jelo  de  se;  epidemy  and  meteorological  reg- 
isters made  in  every  department  of  the  country.  The  collection  of  information 
of  this  kind  might  be  conducted  in  a  manner  that  would  operate  as  a  beneficial 
supervision  of  society.  It  would  furnish  the  police  department  with  a  new  in- 
sight into  the  sources  of  delinquency.  Taken  in  connection  with  coexistent  laws 
which  effect  trade  and  revenue,  and  criminal  laws,  and  the  state  of  markets, 
political  economy  would  be  furnished  with  new  instruments  for  investigation. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  275 

[249]  Want  of  employment  is  here  viewed  as  a  want  of 
organization.  With  you  it  is  represented  to  be  an  indica- 
tion of  an  overpeopled  country.  The  government  of  the 
United  States  does  not  attempt  to  get  rid  of  its  people, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  it  welcomes  the  stranger  who  arrives 
on  their  shores.  Your  government  pay  for  transporting 
their  subjects,  or  encourage  their  removal  by  giving  them 
lands  gratis.  Canada  is  wide  enough  to  receive  them,  but 
its  connection  with  England  does  not  admit  of  a  free  trade. 
Multitudes  of  emigrants  find  their  comforts  as  narrow  as 
before,  and  remove  into  the  United  States.  If  facts  of 
this  sort  indicate  any  thing,  it  is  that  no  extent  of  country 
can  compensate  for  mismanagement,  or,  in  other  words, 
a  nation  is  more  easily  overstocked  from  impolicy  than 
from  want  of  soil. 

The  habits  and  institutions  of  the  American  people 
are  peculiarly  favourable  to  the  adoption  of  manufactur- 
ing pursuits.  They  have  no  corporations  with  exclusive 
privileges,  and  no  laws  which  enact  any  specific  period  of 
apprenticeship.  Their  well  known  spirit  of  enterprise, 
and  the  circumstance  [250]  of  almost  every  man's  being 
acquainted  with  handling  the  axe,  the  hammer,  the  saw, 
and  the  joiner's  plane,  must  give  a  facility  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  mechanical  labour.  Besides,  it  is  understood  that 
a  few  weeks,  or  at  farthest  a  few  months,  are  enough  to 
communicate  the  knowledge  of  most  of  those  employments, 

The  approach  of  misery  might  frequently  be  anticipated  and  arrested  without 
being  exhibited  on  the  poor's  list,  in  the  workhouse,  or  in  the  shape  of  inability 
to  pay  taxes.  Crimes  might  be  prevented,  and  better  criteria  obtained  for  dis- 
criminating between  offences  committed  against  law,  and  those  perpetrated  by 
law.  A  new  light  would  be  thrown  on  several  branches  of  physical  science,  and 
particularly  on  agriculture,  climate,  and  the  healing  art.  It  is  but  too  easy  to 
discover  that  the  desideratum  is  not  in  unison  with  the  affairs  of  the  age,  but  it 
is  probable  that  another  Alfred,  or  a  Lycurgus  must  arise  before  it  can  be  rem- 
edied.—  Flint. 


276  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

and  that  the  work  can  soon  be  reduced  to  practice  by  sub- 
sequent application.  The  progress  already  made  in  sev- 
eral branches  of  manufacture  tend  to  inspire  a  strong  hope 
as  to  future  attainments.  The  fabrication  of  coarse  cotton 
cloths,  called  domestics,  which  now  undersell  British  goods 
of  similar  quality;  the  making  of  iron  articles,  of  leather- 
hats,  paper,  types,  engravings,  the  construction  of  steam- 
boats, and  the  building  of  ships,  are  mentioned  as  flatter- 
ing examples. 

As  the  disposition  to  promote  American  manufactures 
is  progressive,  and  as  popular  opinion  dictates  the  meas- 
ures of  the  government,  it  may  be  safe  to  infer  that  com- 
merce with  England  is  now  in  a  deep  decline,  and  that  the 
erection  of  workshops  (though  it  should  be  on  a  moderate 
scale)  may  be  hailed  as  the  liberation  of  the  United  States 
from  foreign  monopoly. 


[251]  LETTER  XXI 

Circuit  Court  of  Indiana  —  Lawyers  —  Presiding  Judge 
—  Trial  and  Whipping  of  a  Thief  —  Lands  —  Crops  — 
Fourteen-Mile-Creek  —  Salt  Springs  —  Town  of  Cory- 
don  —  Drought  —  Barrens  —  Caves  —  Effects  of  a  Tor- 
nado —  Formation  of  the  Higher  Alluvial  Bottom  Lands 
of  the  Ohio  —  More  Barrens  —  Salt  River  —  Large 
Trees  —  Wild  Vines  —  Steam-Boats  —  The  Falls  of  the 
Ohio  —  Prevalence  of  Bilious  and  Intermittent  Fevers 
— Taciturnity  —  Americanisms. 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,)  Sept.  8,  1820. 
Since  writing  my  last  letter  to  you,  I  have  made  several 
short  excursions  into  the  country. —  I  was  at  Charlestown, 
the  seat  of  justice  in  Clark  county,134  while  the  circuit 

134  Charlestown,  first  settled  in  1808,  is  near  the  centre  of  Clark  County, 
twelve  miles  north  of  Jeffersonville,  and  has  always  been  the  county  seat. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  277 

court  sat  there,  and  had  opportunities  of  hearing  the  ora- 
tory of  several  barristers,  which  was  delivered  in  language 
at  once  strong,  elegant,  and  polite.  A  spirit  of  emulation 
prevails  at  the  bar,  and  a  gentleman  of  good  taste  informed 
me,  that  some  young  practitioners  have  made  vast  progress 
within  two  or  three  years  past.  The  United  States  cer- 
tainly open  an  extensive  school  for  eloquence.  The 
number  of  cases  of  litigation  before  the  various  courts  of 
justice  is  very  great;  and  there  are  numerous  opportuni- 
ties for  exerting  popular  talent,  as  at  elections,  where  the 
harangues  are  called  stump-speeches,  from  the  practice 
of  candidates  mounting  the  stumps  of  trees,  and  there  ad- 
dressing themselves  to  the  people,  and  in  State  Assemblies. 
[252]  The  circuit  court  consists  of  a  presiding  judge, 
who  makes  a  progress  over  the  whole  State,  and  who  meets 
with  two  associate  judges  at  the  several  seats  of  justice. 
Associate  judges  are  local,  and  only  act  in  their  respec- 
tive counties.  One  of  these  gentlemen  opened  the  court 
at  Charlestown  last  year  in  the  absence  of  the  presiding 
judge. —  A  large  jug,  for  holding  cold  water,  that  stood  on 
the  bench,  had  a  caricature  portrait  of  a  judge  painted  on 
it,  and  several  lawyers,  on  coming  forward  to  open  their 
cases,  bowed  to  the  figure,  and  directed  their  eyes  to  it 
during  their  speeches,  occasioning  much  laughter  in  the 
house.  It  was  not  till  the  arrival  of  the  presiding  judge 
that  the  contempt  was  checked.  Freedoms  on  the  part  of 
lawyers  seem  to  be  promoted  in  the  back-country,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  bench  being  occasionally  rilled  with  men 
who  are  much  inferior  to  those  at  the  bar.  The  salary  of 
the  presiding  judge  (I  have  been  told)  is  only  seven  hun- 
dred dollars  a-year.  As  he  is  engaged  in  public  business 
and  in  travelling  nearly  the  whole  of  his  time,  that  sum 
can  only  defray  his  expenses,  even  under  the  most  econom- 


278  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ical  management,  so  that  there  can  be  no  great  error  in 
supposing  that  he  acts  gratuitously.  The  present  pre- 
siding judge  is  a  man  who  has  distinguished  himself  in 
Indian  warfare.135  Whatever  opinion  you  may  form  of 
the  bench  here,  you  may  be  assured  that  it  is  occupied  as 
a  post  of  honour. 

Amongst  the  business  of  the  court,  the  trial  of  a  man 
who  had  stolen  two  horses  excited  much  interest.  On 
his  being  sentenced  to  suffer  thirty  stripes,  he  was  imme- 
diately led  from  the  bar  to  the  whipping-post.  Every 
twitch  of  the  cow-hide,  (a  weapon  formerly  described,) 
drew  a  red  line  across  his  back.  This  was  the  second 
infliction  of  the  kind  that  had  been  sanctioned  by  [253] 
court  in  the  State,  since  my  coming  into  it.  I  do  not 
notice  the  infrequency  of  punishments  as  wishing  to  occa- 
sion a  belief  that  misdemeanours  are  seldom  committed. 
Indeed,  were  it  not  for  the  absolute  impunity  obtained  in 
most  cases,  we  might  soon  see  the  partial  development 
of  a  new  system  of  physiognomy,  one  not  founded  on  the 
features  of  the  face,  but  on  the  striped  lineaments  of  the 
back.  Never,  till  now,  did  I  so  much  value  the  usage  of 
Scotland,  where  the  inhabitant,  on  removing  from  one 
parish  to  another,  carries  with  him  the  testimonial  of  the 
church. 

The  surface  of  the  land  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Charlestown  is  beautifully  diversified,  varying  between 
gently  undulated  and  steep  of  broken  ground.     The  soil 

135  This  was  Benjamin  Parke,  a  leading  man  in  Indiana  under  both  territorial 
and  state  governments.  Emigrating  from  his  native  state,  New  Jersey,  in  1797, 
he  came  first  to  Lexington,  where  he  studied  law,  then  removed  to  Vincennes  in 
1 80 1.  He  was  chosen  the  first  territorial  delegate  to  Congress,  but  resigned 
(1808)  to  become  a  territorial  judge.  Upon  the  admission  of  Indiana  to  the 
Union,  he  was  appointed  by  President  Madison  United  States  district  judge 
with  circuit  court  powers,  a  position  held  until  his  death  in  1835.  He  took  part 
in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  and  was  for  several  years  an  Indian  agent. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  279 

is  of  the  first  rate  quality,  and  covered  with  luxuriant 
crops  of  Indian  corn.  The  crops  of  wheat  are  what 
you  would  call  a  second  rate  crop,  and  several  fields 
of  oats,  which  I  saw,  were  headed  out,  and  were  as 
bulky  as  any  that  I  have  seen  in  Mid-Lothian;  but,  for 
a  reason  formerly  stated,  the  grain  cannot  be  expected 
to  arrive  at  fine  quality.  The  banks  of  Fourteen-Mile- 
Creek,  (which  joins  the  Ohio  at  the  distance  of  four- 
teen miles  above  the  falls,)  are  cliffs  of  limestone  that 
are  overtopped  by  tall  woods,  and  form,  by  their  wind- 
ings, many  romantic  scenes,  of  which  I  can  convey  no 
adequate  idea.  The  stream  is  at  present  almost  entirely 
dried  up,  but  the  extent  of  its  bed,  and  the  marks  of  inun- 
dation by  its  margin,  convince  me  that  its  floods  are  nearly 
equal  to  those  of  the  Clyde  at  Glasgow.  Some  salt 
springs  that  percolate  through  the  rocks  in  the  bottom, 
have  been  discovered  during  the  present  dry  season:  the 
existence  of  these  were  first  surmised  by  an  ingenious  gen- 
tleman, with  whom  I  am  well  acquainted.  He  proceeded 
by  introducing  a  small  tube  into  a  [254]  deep  and  still  part 
of  the  river,  and  drew  water  from  the  bottom  that  was 
perceptibly  saline.  He  has  now  some  people  engaged  in 
boring,  by  which  means  the  discharge  of  water  has  been 
considerably  augmented,  and  has  commenced  evaporat- 
ing on  a  small  scale.  This  process  is  usually  performed 
by  filling  a  number  of  iron  kettles,  of  about  three  feet  in 
diameter,  and  six  inches  deep,  with  the  water,  and  placing 
them  on  loose  stones,  or  over  a  trench  that  is  dug  in  the 
ground  for  receiving  the  fuel.  Boring  for  salt  water  is  a 
work  that  is  occasionally  accompanied  with  a  considerable 
degree  of  difficulty.  Where  the  bore  communicates  with 
a  fresh  water  spring,  on  a  higher  level  than  the  saline  one, 
a  tube  of  tinned  iron  is  let  down  to  exclude  the  former.    At 


280  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

the  salt-works  by  Kanhaway  River,  perforations  have  been 
made  in  the  lime-stone  rocks  to  the  depth  of  two  hundred 
feet.  There  a  hundred  gallons  of  water  are  said  to  yield 
a  bushel  of  salt;  but  there  are  waters  evaporated  in  other 
parts  of  the  country  that  do  not  yield  more  than  a  fourth, 
or  even  a  sixth  part  of  that  quantity. 

Corydon,136  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Indiana,  is  a  small 
village,  situated  in  an  obscure  valley  of  Indian  Creek,  and 
is  surrounded  by  high  and  broken  wooded  lands.  The 
weeds  which  cover  the  clear  parts  of  the  town  plot  are 
withered  to  whiteness  by  the  drought,  as  is  most  of  the 
ground  in  this  part  of  the  country,  swamps  and  lands  under 
crop  excepted.  The  site  of  a  new  capital  for  the  State  is 
determined  to  be  on  the  east  branch  of  White  River, 
where  the  lands  are  still  in  the  hands  of  the  government. 
Future  convenience,  and  the  prospect  of  promoting  the 
sale  of  land  in  the  late  Indian  purchase,  seem  to  have,  on 
this  occasion,  triumphed  [255]  over  private  interest. —  No 
name  has  yet  been  assigned  to  this  inland  metropolis. 

Between  Corydon  and  the  river  Ohio,  (about  twenty- 
five  miles,)  the  surface  is  of  a  rolling  structure,  and  the 
soil  good.  Grass,  at  all  times  scanty  on  account  of  the 
small  quantity  of  cleared  ground,  is  now  withered.  The 
surface,  where  closely  shaded  by  large  trees,  scarcely  ex- 
hibits any  thing  that  is  green;  rotten  logs,  and  the  leaves 
of  last  autumn,  are  strowed  over  the  ground,  presenting 
the  most  gloomy  picture  of  desolation.  Where  large 
trees  are  thin,  a  growth  of  underwood  prevails.  Grounds 
called  barrens  are  interspersed  with  the  woods  in  this  part 
of  Indiana. —  These  are  covered  over  with  small  copse- 

188  The  capital  of  Indiana  Territory  was  moved  from  Vincennes  to  Cory- 
don in  1813,  and  remained  there  until  1825  (see  ante,  note  100).  Corydon  is 
near  the  center  of  Harrison  County,  twenty-five  miles  west  of  Louisville. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint* s  Letters  from  America  281 

wood,  as  hazel  and  briars,  also  with  grasses,  and  an 
immense  variety  of  deciduous  plants.—  The  name  bar- 
rens must  have  arisen  from  the  lands  so  denominated  not 
producing  such  a  large  growth  of  vegetable  matter  as 
the  forests,  rather  than  from  sterility.  They  are,  in  real- 
ity, much  better  pasturages  than  the  woodlands,  and,  when 
cultivated,  produce  the  best  crops  of  wheat.  I  found  trav- 
elling through  the  barrens  to  be  somewhat  uncomfortable, 
on  account  of  exposure  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  the  dust 
of  the  road,  which  was  continually  raised,  in  a  little  cloud, 
by  the  motion  of  the  horse's  feet.  This  sort  of  ground  is 
dry,  and  without  the  vast  quantity  of  decaying  vegetable 
matters  to  be  seen  in  the  woods,  and  for  these  reasons  it 
is  probably  more  conducive  to  health. 

A  great  portion  of  the  soil  of  western  America  lies  im- 
mediately over  immense  strata  of  horizontal  limestone, 
in  which  are  numerous  fissures.  I  have  often  seen  the 
presence  of  these  indicated  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  and 
Indiana,  by  hollows  in  the  [256]  ground  in  the  form  of 
inverted  cones,  which  are  here  called  sink  holes.  Some 
of  these  fissures  have  openings  to  the  surface.  A  stupen- 
dous one  in  Kentucky,137  known  by  the  name  of  the  great 
cave,  has  been  explored  to  the  distance  of  nine  miles  from 
its  entrance.138    The  nitrate  of  potash  has  been  found  in 

137  Mammoth  Cave,  about  ninety-five  miles  southwest  of  Louisville,  was 
accidentally  discovered  by  a  hunter  in  1809.  At  the  present  time  two  hundred 
and  twenty-three  of  its  avenues  have  been  explored,  making  a  total  length  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles.  During  the  War  of  181 2-1 5,  salt  was  manufactured 
from  the  nitrous  earth  in  its  caverns,  and  transported  across  the  mountains  to 
Philadelphia  and  Baltimore.  The  close  of  the  war  rendering  this  industry  un- 
profitable, the  cave  has  since  been  used  only  for  exhibition. —  Ed. 

138  A  description  of  this  cave  was  written  by  John  H.  Farnham,  Esq.,  and  by 
him  transmitted  to  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  instituted  by  the  legis- 
lature of  Massachusetts. —  Flint. 

Comment  by  Ed.  "Extract  of  a  letter  ....  describing  the  Mammoth 
Cave,  in  Kentucky,"  in  American  Antiquarian  Society  Transactions,  i,  p.  355. 


282  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

some  of  these  caves,  and  the  sulphate  of  magnesia  in 
others.  Many  of  them  abound  in  stalactites  of  calc  sin- 
ter; and  copious  streams  of  water  pass  through  some  of 
them.  One  of  these  in  Kentucky  turns  a  subterraneous 
mill,  to  which  access  is  obtained  by  a  sink-hole;  and  a 

Colonel  C of  Indiana  told  me  that  a  settler  in  his 

neighbourhood,  on  digging  a  well,  penetrated  into  a  stream 
of  water,  and  found  blind  fishes  in  it.139 

During  the  last  and  the  present  summer,  this  country 
has  suffered  droughts,  which  the  inhabitants  consider  ex- 
traordinary. Between  Corydon  and  the  Ohio  the  water 
was  very  muddy.  Some  people  in  that  part  are  obliged 
to  carry  water  from  a  distance  of  two  miles.  It  is  not 
uncommon  now  to  see  mill  streams  entirely  dried  up.  I 
have  seen  several  peach  trees,  with  the  fruit  nearly  ripened, 
almost  dried  up  by  the  scorching  heat;  and,  in  some 
instances,  the  woods  assuming  the  appearance  of  autumn 
prematurely,  from  the  same  cause.  The  disadvantage  of 
the  want  of  water  will  be  thought  less  appalling,  when  it  is 
recollected  that  the  clearing  of  the  ground  has  a  tendency 
to  increase  springs;  and  when  it  is  considered  that  [257] 
the  dryness  of  rivers  is  not  occasioned  by  the  total  want 
of  springs,  but  by  the  evaporation  from  the  bottoms  of 
water-courses;  and  farther,  that  water  in  most  situations 
may  be  procured  by  digging  wells. 

Immediately  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Ohio,  and  about 
thirty  miles  below  the  falls,  I  crossed  an  avenue  in  the 
woods,  600  or  700  yards  wide,  which  had  been  devastated 


130  Since  the  above  was  written,  a  notice  of  blind  fishes  has  appeared  (if  I  mis- 
take not)  in  the  memoirs  of  the  Wernerian  Society  of  Edinburgh. —  Flint. 

Comment  by  Ed.  This  was  a  Scottish  Society  composed  of  the  followers  of 
the  German  geologist,  Abraham  Gottlob  Werner  (1750-1817),  who  promul- 
gated the  doctrine  of  the  aqueous  origin  of  rocks.  His  followers  were  known 
also  as  Neptunists. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  283 

by  a  tornado  that  had  passed  from  west  to  east,  and  in 
its  way  cleared  the  ground  almost  entirely.  The  largest 
trees  were  either  torn  up  by  the  roots  or  broken.  In  the 
part  that  I  observed,  nothing  but  underwood  and  the 
shattered  fragments  of  trees  remained.  On  making  in- 
quiries as  to  the  hurricane,  I  was  informed  that  it  swept 
over  the  country  to  the  length  of  several  hundred  miles; 
and  that,  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  river,  it  totally 
obstructed  a  road  with  timber  which  has  not  yet  been 
removed. 

It  is  also  about  thirty  miles  below  the  falls  that  the 
range  of  high  land,  called  the  knobs,  intersects  the  river. 
This  is  the  ridge  that  crosses  the  lower  part  of  Indiana, 
and  part  of  Kentucky,  which  the  late  M.  Volney  noticed 
under  the  name  of  the  Silver  Creek  hills;  and  by  him  sup- 
posed to  have  once  formed  a  dam,  that  retained  a  lake  in 
the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  extending  from  the  ridge  just 
mentioned,  to  the  place  where  Pittsburg  now  stands. 
That  philosopher  attempted  to  show  that  the  higher 
bottom  lands,  which  are  above  the  level  of  the  present 
inundations,  were  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  the  lake; 
and  that,  on  the  waters  making  a  gap  in  the  barrier,  the 
lake  was  drained,  and  the  Ohio  withdrawn  into  its  pres- 
ent lower  and  less  capacious  bed.  That  the  knobs  once 
formed  a  dam  I  am  forced  to  admit,  from  having  seen 
marks  on  a  high  level  on  the  limestone  rocks  in  the  gap, 
which  [258]  clearly  indicate  the  action  of  a  cataract:  but 
I  am,  notwithstanding,  led  to  agree  with  Dr.  Drake's 
hypothesis,  which  explains  the  formation  of  the  higher 
bottom  land,  as  being  the  alluvion  of  the  Ohio  at  a  time 
when  that  river  was  much  larger  than  at  present.  The 
facts  relating  to  this  subject  that  have  come  within  the 
reach  of  my  own  observation,  may  perhaps  be  inserted  in 


284  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

a  well-known  scientific  journal.  In  the  meantime,  it  may 
be  sufficient  to  say,  it  is  now  ascertained,  that  the  waters 
of  Erie,  and  other  great  lakes,  formerly  flowed  southward 
into  the  valley  of  the  Ohio;  and  that  a  cataract,  more 
tremendous  than  the  falls  of  Niagara,  raged  among  the 
rocks  of  Silver  Creek  hills. 

In  the  neighbourhood  of  Salt  River  and  Green  River, 
in  Kentucky,  there  are  extensive  tracks  of  barren  wastes. 
Small  hazel  bushes  from  two  to  three  feet  in  height  abound 
in  these;  and  the  quantity  of  nuts  produced  exceeds  any 
thing  of  the  kind  which  I  have  ever  seen.  The  soil  of 
these  wastes  seems  to  be  very  similar  to  that  of  the  adjoin- 
ing woods;  and  on  account  of  the  trees  diminishing  grad- 
ually in  size,  from  the  forest  toward  the  waste,  it  is  some- 
times impossible  to  discover  a  line  where  the  one  stops 
and  the  other  begins.  This,  together  with  the  fact  told 
by  an  old  settler,  that  some  small  saplings  which  stood 
on  his  farm  twenty  years  ago,  are  now  become  tall  trees, 
leads  me  to  adopt  the  opinion  entertained  by  some,  that 
the  wastes  or  barrens  owe  their  characteristic  form  to  the 
Indians,  who  set  fire  to  dried  grass  and  other  vegetables 
with  the  design  of  facilitating  their  hunting. 

Salt  River  is  between  100  and  150  yards  wide  where  it 
unites  with  the  Ohio,  and  is  navigable  for  about  sixty 
miles.  The  name  is  derived  from  salt  springs  in  its 
vicinity  that  are  now  wrought.  Opposite  to  the  mouth 
of  this  river,  on  the  north  [259]  bank  of  the  Ohio,  stands 
a  sycamore  tree  of  stupendous  size,  which  is  hollow  within. 
I  measured  the  cavity,  and  found  one  diameter  to  be 
twenty-one  feet,  and  the  other  twenty  feet.  In  one  side 
of  it,  a  hole  is  cut  sufficiently  large  to  admit  a  man  on 
horseback.  It  was  probably  a  sycamore  considerably  less 
than  this  that  is  noticed  in  the  Pittsburg  Navigator, 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  285 

(edition  printed  in  181 8,  p.  29,)  in  the  following  words:  — 
u There  is  one  of  these  huge  trees  in  Sciota  county,  Ohio, 
on  the  land  of  a  Mr.  Abraham  Miller,  into  whose  hollow 
thirteen  men  rode  on  horseback,  June  6,  1808;  the  four- 
teenth did  not  enter,  his  horse  being  skittish,  and  too 
fearful  to  advance  into  so  curious  an  apartment,  but 
there  was  room  enough  for  two  more. ' '  14° 

There  is  perhaps  no  vegetable  in  this  country  that 
strikes  the  mind  with  greater  surprise  than  the  wild  vine. 
I  have  seen  one  with  a  stem  nine  inches  in  diameter,  and 
heard  of  others  measuring  eleven  inches.  Some  detached 
trees  have  their  tops  closely  wreathed  with  the  vines 
in  a  manner  that  forms  an  elegant  and  umbrageous 
canopy,  into  which  the  eye  cannot  penetrate.  In  the 
woods  they  overtop  the  tallest  trees,  and  from  thence 
hang  their  pendulous  twigs  almost  to  the  ground,  or  pass 
their  ramifications  from  the  branches  of  one  tree  to  others, 
overshadowing  a  considerable  space.  In  many  instances 
their  roots  are  at  the  distance  of  several  feet  from  any 
tree,  and  their  tops  attached  to  branches  at  the  height 
of  sixty  or  eighty  feet,  without  coming  into  contact  with 
the  trunks  of  trees,  or  any  other  intermediate  support. 
To  make  the  case  plain,  I  have  only  to  say,  that  the  posi- 
tions of  some  of  these  vines  have  a  near  resemblance  to 
the  stays,  and  some  other  ropes  of  a  ship.  The  question, 
how  they  have  erected  themselves  in  this  manner?  is 
frequently  put.  Boats  that  descend  the  [260]  Ohio  are 
often  moored  without  any  other  cable  than  a  small  vine. 

140  It  was  common  for  early  Western  travellers  to  mention  large  trees  as 
indicative  of  the  richness  of  the  soil.  Among  others,  the  following  mention  the 
great  trees  of  the  West:  Washington,  Harmar,  William  Brown,  Cutler,  Harris, 
Baily,  Hildreth,  and  Birkbeck.  Most  of  these  trees  were  sycamores,  such  as 
that  monster  which  Washington  measured  on  his  tour  in  1770.  Some  very 
large  apple-trees  are  also  mentioned. —  Ed. 


286  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  o 

If  a  notch  is  cut  in  the  stem  of  a  vine  in  the  spring  season, 
clear  and  tasteless  water  runs  out,  not  in  drops,  but  in  a 
continued  stream.  I  have  several  times  quenched  my 
thirst  from  sources  of  this  kind. 

For  upwards  of  two  months,  the  Ohio  has  been  low; 
steam-boats  cannot  now  pass  from  the  falls  at  this  place  to 
the  Mississippi,  nor  can  boats,  descending  with  produce, 
get  down  the  same  rapids  without  unloading  the  greater 
part  of  their  cargoes.  The  trade  of  the  country  is  of  con- 
sequence much  interrupted.  In  spring,  181 8,  there  were 
thirty-one  steam-boats  on  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio;  at 
present  there  are  sixty  on  these  waters.  This  increase  of 
craft,  together  with  the  decreasing  quantity  of  goods 
imported,  has  lowered  the  freight  from  New  Orleans  to 
the  falls  of  the  Ohio,  from  six  cents  to  two  cents  per  pound. 
The  rates  paid  by  passengers,  however,  are  not  reduced 
in  the  same  proportion. 

The  falls  of  the  Ohio  are  occasioned  by  a  bed  of  hori- 
zontal limestone  that  stretches  across  the  river,  which  is 
upwards  of  a  mile  in  breadth.  At  the  head  of  the  falls, 
the  river  is  about  a  mile  broad,  including  a  small  island, 
but  in  dry  seasons  of  the  year  the  waters  are  much  con- 
tracted in  breadth,  leaving  a  great  portion  of  the  rocky 
bottom  entirely  dry.  The  interruption  to  the  navigation 
is  not  a  precipitous  cascade,  as  the  name  would  imply, 
but  a  rapid,  which  is  extremely  shallow  at  the  head  in  dry 
weather,  and  runs  over  an  uneven  bottom,  at  the  rate  of 
about  fourteen  miles  an  hour.  After  passing  the  upper, 
or  principal  shoot,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  waters  are 
collected  into  a  deep  but  narrow  channel,  close  by  the 
Indiana  shore,  leaving  some  small  islands  toward  the 
opposite  side;  [261]  the  second,  or  lower  shoot,  is  less 
violent,  having  deeper  water,  and  is  always  navigable  for 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  287 

loaded  boats  passing  downward.  The  lives  of  a  number 
of  strangers  have  lately  been  lost,  by  venturing  down  with- 
out pilots.  The  whole  fall,  at  the  lowest  known  stage  of 
water,  is  nearly  twenty-four  feet;  but  in  floods  the  decliv- 
ity is  distributed  over  a  large  portion  of  the  river,  and  is 
imperceptible  to  the  eye.  The  rocks  contain  vast  quan- 
tities of  organic  remains,  as  madrepores,  millepores,  favo- 
cites,  alcyonites,  corals,  several  species  of  terebratulae, 
trilobites,  trochites,  &c.  &c.  These  remains  being  harder 
than  the  water-worn  rocks,  appear  prominent,  as  if  in 
relief,  and  many  of  them  almost  entirely  detached.  They 
are  so  numerous,  that  the  surface  is  literally  studded  with 
them.  Volney,  who  visited  this  place,  has  represented 
the  rocks  to  be  destitute  of  such  subjects.  It  must  have 
been  at  a  time  when  they  were  covered  by  water. 

The  inhabitants  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Falls  have 
been  visited  by  attacks  of  bilious  fever  and  ague.  A  con- 
siderable number  of  persons  have  been  carried  off  by  the 
former  of  these  complaints,  and  the  convalescent  of  both 
are  much  debilitated.  A  surmise  lately  appeared  in  a 
Louisville  newspaper,  that  many  poor  people  had  suffered 
from  the  want  of  medical  assistance,  and  hazarded  the 
opinion,  that  a  number  had  died  in  cases  where  season- 
able applications  might  have  been  efficacious.  Accounts 
from  Vincennes  U1  say,  that  about  a  third  part  of  the 
people  there  are  confined  to  bed  by  sickness,  and  that  much 
of  the  Wabash  country,  both  in  Indiana  and  Illinois,  are 
now  subject  to  the  same  evil.  Reports  from  the  settle- 
ments on  the  lower  parts  of  White  river  represent  that 
sickness  prevails  there  and  along  other  water  courses. 
There  are  many  [262]  people  who  act  as  if  they  were  not 

141  For  the  early  history  of  Vincennes,  see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i  of 
our  series,  note  113. —  Ed. 


288  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  o 

sufficiently  sensible  of  the  disadvantages  resulting  from 
settling  in  unhealthy  situations.  Fertility  of  soil  and 
commercial  advantages  are  the  great  attractions,  but  men 
who  look  to  these  as  primary  considerations,  obviously 
undervalue  some  of  the  strongest  checks  to  population 
and  public  prosperity.  The  endemical  distempers  of  this 
country,  so  far  from  being  chiefly  confined  to  the  weak 
and  the  aged,  seem  to  commit  their  greatest  devastations 
amongst  the  young  and  the  strong.  Surviving  sufferers 
are  frequently  rendered  unfit  for  labour  for  a  third  or 
fourth  part  of  the  year,  and  receive  an  irreparable  injury 
to  their  constitutions ;  regimen  and  medicine  become  almost 
as  indispensable  as  food ;  productive  labour  is  thus  dimin- 
ished, and  an  additional  cost  imposed  on  life. 

Tavern-keepers  observe  that  travellers  are  not  nearly 
so  numerous  as  they  were  last  year.  The  change  is  to  be 
imputed  solely  to  the  decline  in  trade,  and  to  depression 
in  the  price  of  lands.  The  fact  shows  that  a  proportion 
of  the  populace  remains  at  home  through  necessity  or 
economical  motives.  Happy  it  is  for  them,  that  the  pres- 
sure of  the  times  does  not,  as  in  certain  other  countries, 
turn  out  a  numerous  class  in  the  condition  of  houseless 
poor.  Travellers,  however,  are  still  so  numerous,  that  a 
stranger,  not  fully  aware  of  the  rapidity  with  which  new 
settlements  are  forming,  and  of  the  great  populace  of 
eastern  States,  might  be  apt  to  imagine  that  Americans 
are  a  singularly  volatile  people. 

In  the  whole  of  my  correspondence  with  the  unlettered 
part  of  the  people  of  the  western  country,  I  have  observed 
a  brevity  of  language,  that  seems  to  be  occasioned  by  their 
not  being  acquainted  with  [263]  an  extensive  vocabulary. 
Their  manner  of  speech  is  grave,  apparently  earnest,  and 
adapted  to  business  more  than  to  intellectual  enjoyment. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  289 

It  is  seldom  that  any  thing  jocular,  or  any  play  of  words, 
or  circumlocution,  or  repartee,  is  uttered  by  them.  If  a 
question  is  put,  it  is  usually  answered  in  the  shortest  man- 
ner possible.  Sometimes  abridgments  are  made  that 
render  expressions  inconclusive,  and  give  them  the  form 
of  the  inuendo,  even  where  ambiguity  is  not  intended, 
and  by  people  who,  if  they  were  accosted  in  ironical  terms, 
would  make  no  other  reply  than  an  astonished  gaze. 
Technical  language  is,  for  obvious  reasons,  much  limited. 
I  have  had  opportunities  of  seeing  a  number  of  Americans 
and  Irish,  who  were  engaged  in  the  same  sort  of  employ- 
ment, and  could  not  omit  noticing  the  contrast  formed. 
Where  work  was  let  by  the  piece,  the  Irish  (although  pre- 
viously strangers  to  one  another)  uniformly  joined  in 
working  together  in  large  groupes,  and  amused  themselves 
by  conversation,  occasionally  introducing  the  song,  the 
pun,  and  the  bull;  while  Americans,  under  similar  con- 
ditions, preferred  working  alone,  or  in  parties  not  exceed- 
ing three,  and  attended  to  their  business  in  silence.  The 
conversation  of  those  whom  you  would  call  the  lower 
orders,  shows  that  they  have  a  very  considerable  knowl- 
edge of  the  institutions  of  their  country,  and  that  they 
set  a  high  value  on  them.  Their  discourse  is  usually  in- 
termixed with  the  provincialisms  of  England  and  Ireland, 
and  a  few  Scotticisms.  This  might  be  expected,  since 
America  has  been  partly  peopled  by  the  natives  of  these 
countries.  They  also  use  some  expressions  the  original 
applications  of  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover. 
These  I  must  call  Americanisms,  and  will  subjoin  some 
examples. 

[264]  Movers  ...  for  People  in  the  act  0}  removing 

from  one  place  to  another. 
Fresh      ....      —  Flood  in  a  river. 


290 


Early  Western  Travels 


[Vol.  o 


Bos 

—  Master. 

Hired  Girl 

—  Servant  Girl. 

Hired  Man 

—  Servant  Man. 

Reach     . 

—  A  part  oj  a  river  that  continues  for  a 

considerable  distance  nearly  in  a 

straight  line. 

Raised    . 

—  Bred  or  reared,  the  participle  passive 

0}  to  breed,  (frequently  applied  to 

the  human  species.) 

Tot 

—  Carry.     This  is  said  to  be  of  negro 

origin. 

Carry  the  horse  to  water   .      —  To  take  or  lead  the  horse  to  the  water. 

Chores    . 

—  Probably  derived  from  chars;  little, 

odd,    detached    or    miscellaneous 

pieces  of  business. 

Rowdy    . 

—  Blackguard. 

Truck     . 

—  Culinary  vegetables;  sometimes  ap- 

plied to  baggage. 

A  Machinery   . 

—  A  Machine. 

Floy 

—  Dirty  or  foul. 

Clever     . 

—  Honest,  or  of  good  disposition. 

Creature 

—  Horse. 

Rooster,  or  he-bird  . 

—  Cock,  the  male  of  the  hen. 

LETTER  XXII 

Miscellaneous  Remarks  on  the  Manners  and  Habits  of 

the  People 

Jeffersonville,  (Indiana,)  Sep.  11,  1820. 
In  your  letter  of  the  15th  of  May  last,  you  mention  your 
apprehension  that  I  am  living  amongst  a  half  civilized 
people.  Perhaps  this  is  partly  occasioned  by  my  having, 
in  former  letters,  mentioned  a  considerable  number  of  dis- 
agreeable incidents.  [265]  Matters  of  public  notoriety 
always  attract  attention,  while  the  more  gratifying  affairs 
of  private  life,  as  the  most  pleasant  family  scenes,  the 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  291 

strictest  integrity,  and  even  acts  of  the  most  disinterested 
generosity,  are,  from  their  more  frequent  occurrence, 
omitted  as  less  interesting.  Hence  it  is,  that  the  stories  of 
travellers,  however  authentic  they  may  be,  and  however 
amusing  to  their  readers,  are  often  more  calculated  to 
promote  prejudices  then  to  convey  accurate  information 
regarding  society  and  morals.  It  is  the  energy  and  the 
tendency  of  public  institutions  that  form  the  best  index 
to  national  character. 

I  have  at  different  times  called  your  attention  to  the 
disadvantages  here  in  respect  of  opportunities  of  educa- 
tion, and  the  influx  of  immoral  strangers.  In  these 
respects  the  back-woods  are  mere  colonies  in  comparison 
with  the  better  state  of  society  in  the  eastern  country. 
Had  I  lived  in  Connecticut  or  Massachusetts,  instead  of 
Indiana,  I  might  have  met  with  fewer  irregularities  to 
relate.  My  acquaintance  with  many  persons  from  the 
older  communities  of  the  Union,  causes  me  to  entertain 
the  highest  opinion  of  the  attainments  there,  and  con- 
vinces me  that  it  would  be  nearly  as  unfair  to  collect  the 
ingredients  for  forming  the  character  of  the  British  peo- 
ple in  their  foreign  possessions,  as  it  is  to  infer  the  state 
of  American  society  from  the  habits  and  manners  of  peo- 
ple in  new  settlements.  Adopting  this  view  of  the  matter, 
it  may  be  asked,  in  which  of  the  British  colonies  is  a 
thirty-sixth  part  of  the  soil  set  apart  for  the  support  of 
schools  ?  which  of  them  make  their  own  laws,  and  appoint 
their  own  governors?  or  which  has  produced  such  an 
example  of  availing  themselves  of  the  lights  of  the  age, 
as  has  the  new  State  of  Alabama,  in  rejecting  usury  laws. 

[266]  There  is  no  course  of  conduct  that  would  belie 
my  feelings  more  than  attempting  to  misrepresent  the 
character  of  the  American  people.    From  the  time  of  my 


292  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

first  landing  in  the  country  till  the  present,  I  have  enjoyed 
intercourse  with  people  of  eminence  in  society,  and  have 
uniformly  met  with  the  most  polite  receptions,  and,  on 
many  occasions,  with  such  marks  of  kindness  that  I  can 
never  have  sufficient  opportunities  to  requite.  Names 
would  be  altogether  uninteresting  to  you,  but  there  are 
many  here  that  I  cannot  recal  to  recollection  without 
associating  them  with  those  of  the  personages  whom  I 
most  admire,  and  of  the  friends  whom  I  most  esteem. 

The  American  community  is  not,  like  that  of  Britain, 
divided  or  formed  into  classes  by  the  distinctions  of  title 
and  rank,  neither  does  political  party  seem  to  form  such 
a  complete  separation  amongst  men,  and  the  unequal 
distribution  of  property  operates  much  less.  The  effects 
of  these  conditions  are,  that  the  individuals  who  com- 
pose our  society  are  less  mutually  repellent  to  one  another 
than  with  you,  and  the  distinctions  formed  here  are  of  a 
more  natural  kind,  such  as  those  founded  on  public  serv- 
ices and  talents,  and  the  more  uninterrupted  associa- 
tions that  proceed  from  the  sympathies  of  human  nature. 
I  am  almost  of  opinion  that  the  more  extended  bonds  of 
American  society  are  much  strengthened  by  universal 
suffrage,  and  the  frequent  recurrence  of  elections,  for  this 
reason,  that  the  candidates  having  no  boroughs  to  be 
treated  with  in  the  wholesale  way,  and  the  constituents 
being  too  numerous,  and  coming  too  often  in  the  way,  to 
admit  of  their  being  bought  over,  expectants  are  obliged 
to  depend  on  their  popularity,  and  do  not  find  it  their 
interest  to  repulse  any  one.  It  is  only  from  these  causes 
that  I  could  attempt  [267]  to  account  for  the  affability  of 
manners  which  are  almost  universal.  The  inhabitants  of 
American  towns  are  not,  like  some  of  the  people  of  your 
cities,  ignorant  of  the  names  of  the  persons  who  live  in 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  293 

the  nearest  adjoining  houses,  or  who  perhaps  enter  by 
the  same  outer  door,  and  the  new  settler  in  the  woods  is 
soon  so  well  known,  among  a  wide  circle  of  neighbours, 
that  almost  any  person,  within  ten  miles  of  him,  can  direct 
the  stranger  to  his  residence.  The  civilities  exchanged 
by  people  who  meet  on  the  roads,  or  in  taverns,  and  the 
readiness  amongst  strangers  to  converse  together,  are 
matters  of  surprise  to  natives  of  Britain. 

A  short  time  ago  I  went  on  business  to  the  residence  of 
a  gentleman  of  high  military  rank,  who  has  made  a  dis- 
tinguished figure  in  Indian  warfare,  in  the  late  war  on 
the  Canadian  frontier,  and  by  his  eloquence  in  Congress. 
His  hospitality  and  the  urbanity  of  his  manners  are  not 
less  conspicuous  than  his  other  great  qualities.  His  house, 
from  the  numbers  of  his  visitors,  has  a  great  resemblance 
to  a  tavern.  He  has  on  his  property  a  great  number  of 
people  who  rent  land  on  shares,  (a  term  formerly  explained 
to  you.)  When  one  of  these  tenants,  or  when  almost  any 
other  stranger  of  respectable  appearance,  happens  to 
come  to  his  house  about  the  time  of  dinner,  he  usually 
invites  him  to  table.  Amongst  his  party  at  dinner  I 
observed  an  old  man,  who  joined  in  conversation  for  about 
half  an  hour  after  the  cloth  was  removed.  On  his  rising 
to  depart  the  host  politely  accompanied  him  to  his  horse. 
It  was  not  till  after  mounting  that  the  stranger  intimated 
the  object  of  his  call. —  "I  have,"  (said  he,)  "for  a  long 

time  wished  to  see  General ,  and  now  I  am  satisfied.  * ' 

In  the  afternoon  he  walked  over  his  farm,  and  gave  direc- 
tions to  some  people  making  hay,  [268]  and  to  others 
employed  in  a  distillery,  in  which  he  uses  the  corn  paid 
to  him  as  rents.  That  article  now  sells  at  twenty-five 
cents  per  bushel,  but  when  converted  into  spirits,  it  yields 
him  at  the  rate  of  a  dollar  per  bushel.     In  the  evening 


294  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

two  itinerants,  a  presbyterian  preacher  and  his  wife, 
arrived  with  an  introduction  from  an  acquaintance. 
After  some  conversation,  the  preacher  performed  worship 
in  the  family  In  the  morning,  after  breakfast,  the  Gen- 
eral contributed  a  few  dollars  to  the  support  of  religion, 
and  held  the  horses  while  the  two  travellers  mounted.  It 
would  be  of  little  use  to  multiply  facts  showing  that  people 
of  the  first  consequence,  in  the  free  States  of  this  country, 
do  not  keep  numerous  hordes  of  menials,  and  that  they 
know  how  to  help  themselves,  as  the  high  price  of  labour 
might  alone  lead  you  to  infer  this  as  a  consequence.  I 
shall  only  relate  an  example  in  point.  The  gentleman 
with  whom  I  board  keeps  a  tavern;  he  is  an  officer  who 
fought  for  the  liberties  of  his  country,  during  the  revolu- 
tionary war,  and  is  now  adjutant-general  of  the  militia  of 
this  State.142  One  morning  I  found  him  engaged  in  clean- 
ing his  own  shoes,  in  the  absence  of  a  boy  who  usually 
does  work  of  this  kind  for  him. 

The  laws  and  the  usages  of  America  in  respect  of  for- 
eigners, reflect  the  highest  honour  on  the  country.  The 
stranger  is  not  only  protected  in  his  person  and  property 
on  his  first  arrival,  but  it  is  in  his  power  to  become  an 
elector,  and  eligible  to  situations  of  honour  and  trust.  He 
may  depend  on  being  here  esteemed  according  to  his 
behaviour  and  usefulness,  without  regard  to  his  former 
condition  or  his  former  country.  I  have  in  various  in- 
stances seen  men  enjoying  the  benefits  of  the  free  institu- 
tions of  the  United  States,  and  the  respect  of  their  neigh- 
bours, who,  a  few  years  ago,  invaded  [269]  the  country 

142  Henry  P.  Coburn  was  adjutant-general  of  Indiana  from  December,  1819, 
to  December,  1822.  A  native  of  Massachusetts  and  graduate  of  Harvard  Col- 
lege (1812),  he  came  to  Indiana  in  1816  and  practised  law  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  state  until  1820.  In  that  year  he  was  made  clerk  of  the  supreme  court, 
holding  the  position  until  his  death  in  1852. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  295 

with  British  arms  in  their  hands.  You  may  contrast  this 
liberality  with  the  Alien  laws,  and  with  the  spirit  of  the 
corporations  and  privileged  orders  of  your  country,  and 
ask  yourself,  Who  are  the  semi-barbarians?  Who  are 
the  "half-civilized  people  ?n 

The  comforts  that  I  enjoy  here  are  perhaps  somewhat 
greater  than  you  suppose.  I  board  with  a  respectable 
family,  the  members  of  which  do  every  thing  in  their 
power  to  render  my  situation  agreeable.  In  our  small 
town  and  neighbourhood,  there  is  a  considerable  number 
of  accomplished  people,  amongst  whom  I  have  much  of 
that  sort  of  enjoyment  which  consists  in  hearing  elegant 
conversation,  and  the  reciprocation  of  those  little  civilities 
and  services  that  give  a  relish  to  social  life.  The  situa- 
tion of  this  place  at  an  important  point  on  the  river,  and 
on  the  line  of  an  extensive  communication  by  land, 
renders  it  a  very  considerable  thoroughfare.  This  of 
itself,  has  been  the  means  of  making  me  extensively 
acquainted  amongst  the  public  characters  of  the  State, 
and  many  interesting  individuals  from  other  parts.  We 
have  abundance  of  newspapers,  some  of  which  are  judi- 
ciously conducted,  and  in  which  many  excellent  original 
articles  are  to  be  found;  and  all  of  them  devote  a  part  of 
their  columns  to  the  public  occurrences  of  Britain.  I 
occasionally  read  some  of  the  latest  publications  from 
your  country,  and  have  frequent  opportunities  of  seeing 
the  Reviews,  and  Literary  and  Scientific  Magazines.  At 
short  intervals,  I  have  commonly  letters  from  Scotland, 
and  frequently  communications  from  friends  in  different 
parts  of  this  country.  In  short,  were  I  discontented  with 
the  society  amongst  which  I  live,  I  might  occasion  a  sus- 
picion that  I  am  unworthy  of  mixing  in  it. 


296  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

[270]  LETTER  XXIII 

Passage  from  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  to  Cincinnati  — 
Drought  —  Banks  —  Militia  —  Journey  to  Lake  Erie 

—  Reading  —  Shakertown  —  Lebanon  —  Little  Miami 

—  Wood  Pigeons  —  Insects  —  Clarkville  and  Leesburg 

—  Greenfield  and  Oldtown  —  Large  quantities  of  Grain 
raised  by  Individuals  —  The  Great  Sciota  —  Pickaway 
Plains  —  Wet    Prairies  —  New  Lancaster  —  Lebanon 

—  Newark  —  Mount  Vernon  —  Owl  Creek  —  Clear 
Fork  —  Roads  —  Mansfield  —  Trucksville  —  Summit 
of  the  Country  between  the  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie  — 
Munro  —  Sickness  —  The  Great  Prairie  —  The  for- 
mer Beach  of  Lake  Erie  —  Bloomingtown  —  Bank  — 
Mineral    Strata  —  Portland  —  Venice  —  Sickness  — 

—  Indians  —  Tavern  Keepers  —  People. 

Portland,  (Ohio,)  Oct.  13,  1820. 

I  left  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  on  the  12th  ult.  and  took  my 
passage  in  a  steam-boat  which  plies  between  that  place 
and  Cincinnati. —  There  was  no  other  passing  on  the 
Ohio  at  that  time,  on  account  of  the  lowness  of  the  water. 

From  the  difference  of  time  occupied  in  ascending  and 
descending  the  river,  it  appeared  that  the  mean  velocity 
of  the  stream  was  reduced  to  one  mile  per  hour.  In 
several  ripples,  the  deepest  part  of  the  channel  measured 
only  three  feet.  The  vessel  repeatedly  ran  aground,  so 
that  an  anchor  was  put  out,  and  it  became  necessary  that 
every  man  on  board  should  work  at  the  capstane.  The 
boat  was  the  same  in  which  I  ascended  the  river  in  June 
last,  and  of  which  I  noted  down  the  dimensions  in  my 
letter  of  the  26th  of  that  month.  [271]  She  is  here  con- 
sidered to  be  a  small  vessel,  and  the  best  for  navigating 
the  river  in  dry  seasons.  On  computing  the  velocity  of 
the  water  wheel,  I  found  that  the  boat  would  move  at  the 
rate  of  8J  miles  per  hour,  supposing  that  it  proceeded  in 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  297 

the  manner  of  wheel  carriages,  and  that  the  actual  velocity 
through  still  water  was  seven  miles  per  hour.  This  gives 
a  very  good  measure  of  the  vis  inertia  of  the  fluid. 

We  did  not  arrive  at  Cincinnati  till  the  15th,  being 
obliged  to  stop  during  the  night,  as  it  was  impossible  to 
keep  in  the  proper  channel  in  the  dark,  at  the  present  low 
stage  of  the  river.  The  vessel  returned  downward  nearly 
empty,  to  be  laid  up  till  the  next  rise  of  water. 

The  hills  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cincinnati,  which 
were  beautifully  verdant  in  June  last,  are  now  withered 
to  whiteness,  by  the  scorching  drought.143 

The  trade  of  Cincinnati  continues  to  be  dull.  Two  of 
the  banks  have  given  up  business  altogether,  and  two 
others  are  struggling  for  existence.  Their  money  is  33J 
and  60  per  cent  under  par.  One  of  these  establishments 
has  been  in  the  habit  of  giving  in  exchange  for  its  own 
notes,  those  of  another  paper  shop  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance; when  the  paper  so  obtained  is  presented  at  the 
second,  it  is  taken  in  exchange  for  the  money  of  a  third 
bank  still  farther  off.  At  the  third,  the  bills  are  ex- 
changed for  the  money  of  the  first.  This  is  in  reality 
making  banks  li  equally  solvent  with  their  neighbouring 
institutions."  Some  of  the  stockholders,  [272]  who  are 
themselves  the  debtors  0}  the  banks,  procure  a  part  of  the 
money,  which  is  either  much  depreciated,  or  entirely 
sunk  to  satisfy  for  the  same  debts. 

Females  of  a  certain  description  are  not  to  be  seen  in 
the  streets  of  Cincinnati  after  dusk.  This  is  attributed, 
not  so  much  to  police  regulations,  as  to  the  boys,  whose 
practice  it  is  to  chase  them. 

143  Dr.  Drake,  who  is  a  native  of  the  western  country,  after  noticing  the  effects 
of  a  dry  summer,  adds, ' '  But,  fortunately,  such  extraordinary  droughts  occur 
too  seldom,  and  are  too  limited  in  their  extent,  to  be  regarded  as  any  great 
calamity." — Picture  of  Cincinnati,  p.  105. —  Flint. 


298  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

On  the  23d,  a  regiment  of  Militia  was  reviewed.  The 
state  of  discipline  is  so  bad  that  every  movement  is  accom- 
panied with  disorder.  The  time  occupied  in  training  is 
short,  and  the  practice  of  privates  electing  their  own 
officers  is  not  considered  conducive  to  subordination, 
especially  in  time  of  peace.  They  are,  however,  armed 
with  good  rifles,  and  are  formidable  troops  in  the  woods. 

The  last  number  of  the  Edinburgh  Review,  Peter's 
Letters  to  his  Kinsfolk,144  Blackwood's  Magazine,  and  the 
Monastery,145  are  the  current  works  of  the  day.  When 
lately  at  Louisville,  I  found  an  acquaintance  reading 
Ivanhoe ;  during  my  stay  with  him,  which  was  only  about 
an  hour,  two  persons  applied  for  a  loan  of  the  book.  He 
told  me  that  there  were  seven  or  eight  copies  of  it  in  that 
town,  and  that  they  are  no  sooner  read  by  one  than  they 
are  lent  to  another.  Two  copies  of  the  Monastery  had 
just  then  arrived  in  town,  and  were,  if  possible,  more  in 
request  than  the  former.  The  natives  of  Britain,  in 
America,  have  the  satisfaction  of  mixing  with  a  people 
who  are  descended  from  the  same  ancestors,  who  speak 
the  same  language,  who  are  instructed  by  the  same  stan- 
dard books,  who  are  amused  by  the  same  novels,  and  who 
sing  the  same  songs. 

In  giving  you  details  of  my  journey  from  the  Ohio  to 
Lake  Erie,  I  shall  confine  myself  almost  [273]  entirely  to 
a  transcript  of  notes  taken  by  the  way.146 

144  A  series  of  lively  sketches  of  Edinburgh  society  by  John  Gibson  Lockhart 
( 1 794-1854),  published  in  Blackwood? s  Magazine  during  1819. —  Ed. 

145  Scott's  novel,  The  Monastery \  was  published  in  1820. —  Ed. 

146  In  order  to  view  the  country,  Flint  pursued  a  singular  route  from  Cincin- 
nati to  Lake  Erie.  His  course  was  through  Warren,  Clinton,  Highland,  Ross, 
Pickaway,  Fairfield,  Licking,  Knox,  Richland,  Huron,  and  Erie  counties.  The 
principal  points  touched  were  Lebanon  in  Warren,  Lancaster  in  Fairfield, 
Newark  in  Licking,  and  Mansfield  in  Richland.  He  reached  Lake  Erie  at 
the  present  Huron,  at  the  mouth  of  Huron  River.  His  roundabout  tour 
brought  him  through  some  of  the  very  best  portions  of  the  State. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  299 

On  the  26th  of  September  I  left  Cincinnati.  My  travel- 
ling equipment  consisted  of  a  light  waggon,  drawn  by  a 
Yankee  mare.  The  animal  was  spirited,  but  at  the  same 
time  docile,  and  obedient  to  the  rein;  and  the  roads, 
though  rough  in  some  parts,  and  covered  with  dust,  were 
such  as  are  in  this  country  called  good.  The  atmosphere 
was  clear,  without  a  single  speck  of  cloud,  and  the  tem- 
perature of  the  air  agreeable.  I  got  forward  with  a  degree 
of  ease  and  good  spirit,  that  might  well  become  a  ride 
undertaken  for  pleasure. 

Reading  is  a  small  town  with  a  good  tavern,  twelve 
miles  north-east  of  Cincinnati.147 

I  lodged  for  the  night  with  a  tavern-keeper,  who  has, 
within  these  four  years  past,  cleared  a  good  farm  on 
which  he  lives.  He  is  a  penetrating  and  intelligent  old 
man.  Without  being  told,  he  was  able  to  discover  my 
native  country,  and  attempted  to  make  himself  agreeable 
by  dilating  on  the  histories  of  Wallace  and  Bruce.  His 
son,  who  is  arrived  at  manhood,  asked  if  Wallace  was  an 
American  ?  The  father  is  a  native  of  the  eastern  country, 
and  has  had  better  opportunities  of  being  educated  than  the 
son  seems  to  have  met  with  in  this  newly  settled  country. 
Closely  adjoining  to  this  place  is  Union  or  Shakertown,148 
the  settlement  of  a  remarkable  society  called  Shakers,  I 
suppose  from  dancing  forming  a  principal  part  of  their 

HT  Reading  was  first  settled  in  1794  by  Abraham  Voorhees,  who  laid  out  the 
town  four  years  later.  It  was  for  some  time  called  Voorheestown,  but  re- 
christened  out  of  compliment  to  some  of  the  early  settlers  who  came  from  Read- 
ing, Pennsylvania. —  Ed. 

148  The  Kentucky  religious  awakening  of  1800,  spreading  into  southern  Ohio, 
caused  such  a  state  of  religious  excitement  that  the  Shakers  of  New  Lebanon, 
New  York,  thinking  it  a  profitable  field  in  which  to  plant  their  doctrines,  sent 
three  missionaries  to  Warren  County  in  1805.  They  found  many  converts 
among  the  excited  people,  and  Union  Village,  or  Shakerstown,  soon  sprang  up. 
They  were  called  Shakers  not  so  much  from  the  dancing,  as  from  the  handshak- 
ing, head  shaking,  and  other  bodily  contortions  in  their  religious  exercises. —  Ed 


300  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

worship.  They  have  established  a  community  of  goods, 
and  prohibited  marriage  and  the  propagation  of  the 
species.  Although  this  restriction  is  in  general  religiously 
observed,  it  is  said  that  several  of  their  daughters  have 
been  carried  off  from  the  settlement  by  young  men  of 
the  neighbourhood.  In  the  Session  of  1810-1811,  the 
legislature  found  it  proper  to  interfere,  in  causing  the 
society  to  provide  for  some  families  [274]  that  were 
deserted  by  their  husbands.  The  people  in  the  vicinity 
admit  that  the  Shakers  are  characterized  by  sobriety,  a 
peaceable  disposition,  (and,  what  appears  to  be  surpris- 
ing,) industry,  frugality,  and  cleanliness. 

Sept.  27.  Passed  through  Lebanon,149  a  small  town 
composed  partly  of  brick  houses.  It  is,  however,  the  seat 
of  justice  for  a  county,  and  has  a  newspaper  printing- 
office,  and  a  bank.  The  number  of  two  and  four  horse 
waggons  which  pass  along  the  road  would  indicate  much 
business;  but  a  deduction  is  to  be  made  for  the  smallness 
of  the  loads.  Farmers  were  engaged  in  carrying  home 
their  crops  of  maize,  or  in  piling  them  up  in  the  fields, 
and  some  in  preparing  the  ground  for  sowing  their  wheat. 
The  orchards  were  nearly  cleared  of  their  fruit.  Cyder 
is  here  made  in  considerable  quantities. 

The  country  between  the  two  rivers  Miamis  is  said  to 
be  one  of  the  most  fertile  in  America,  but  the  part  of  it 
that  I  have  seen  is  not  the  best  watered.  Many  of  the 
people  have  to  draw  water  from  wells  for  themselves  and 
their  cattle,  happy  at  the  present  time,  if  the  springs  do 
not  fail  altogether. 

Crossed  the  little  Miami,  a  name  that  is  now  perfectly 

*•  The  four  proprietors,  who  were  also  the  only  settlers  on  the  site  of  Lebanon, 
laid  out  the  town  in  1802.  Becoming  the  county  seat  of  Warren  County,  it 
thereafter  grew  rapidly,  and  in  1809  was  chosen  as  the  site  for  Miami  Univer- 
sity.— Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  301 

descriptive  of  the  river.150  The  bottom  land  is  rich,  and 
the  banks  on  both  sides  steep.  On  the  top  of  the  east 
bank  the  remains  of  an  ancient  fortification  stand.  The 
wall,  which  is  about  fourteen  feet  high,  is  overgrown 
with  large  timber,  and  incloses  a  considerable  space  of 
land. 

Much  of  the  road  in  the  east  side  of  the  little  Miami  is 
over  wet  clay  land.  Logs  are  split,  and  laid  side  by  side 
across  the  road,  as  a  way  for  carriages.  The  jolting  over 
these  is  disagreeable,  and  the  progress  slow.  At  this  dry 
season,  the  soil  would  serve  the  purpose  better,  but  would 
be  impassable  in  wet  weather. 

[275]  The  woods  abound  in  pigeons,  a  small  species  of 
fowls  which  migrates  to  the  southward  in  winter,  and 
return  to  the  north  in  spring.  Their  numbers  are  so 
immense  that  they  sometimes  move  in  clouds,  upwards  of 
a  mile  in  length.  At  the  time  when  they  are  passing,  the 
people  have  good  sport  in  shooting  them,  as  one  flock 
frequently  succeeds  another  before  the  gun  can  be  re- 
loaded. The  parts  of  the  woods  where  they  roost,  are 
distinguished  by  the  trees  having  their  branches  broken 
off,  and  many  of  them  deadened  by  the  pressure  of  the 
myriads  that  alight  upon  them. 

The  number  of  grasshoppers  is  amazingly  great.  A 
swarm  of  them  rises  from  amongst  the  grass  or  weeds,  at 
every  footstep  of  the  pedestrian.  Some  large  species  are 
winged,  and  can  fly  to  the  distance  of  twelve,  and  even 
twenty  yards.  This  remark  applies  to  every  part  of  Amer- 
ica which  I  have  seen.  The  country  abounds  with  a 
multitude  of  insects,  much  diversified  in  species,  colours, 
and  habits.    Wasps  and  hornets  are  extremely  numer- 

160  The  road  crossed  the  Little  Miami  near  the  border  line  between  Warren 
and  Green  counties. —  Ed. 


302  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ous.  I  have  not  suffered  from  mosquitoes  in  the  degree 
that  I  had  been  taught  to  expect. 

Sept.  28.  Clarkville  and  Leesburg  are  two  very  small 
towns.  Passed  a  young  man  who  was  lame,  I  believe, 
from  a  rheumatic  affection,  a  complaint  that  is  pretty 
frequent  in  this  country,  from  the  quick  transitions  in  the 
temperature  of  the  climate.  This  traveller  told  me  that 
he  was  on  his  return  from  New  Orleans,  having  gone 
down  the  river  in  the  capacity  of  boatman,  and  that  he 
had  travelled  most  of  the  way  homeward  on  foot.  On 
my  suggesting  that  he  should  remain  with  a  farmer  for  a 
few  days,  where  he  might  work  at  the  harvest,  a  kind  of 
labour  which  does  not  require  much  locomotion,  he  told 
me  that  he  had  applied  to  several,  but  they  refused  to  give 
him  employment. 

[276]  The  road  between  Leesburg  and  Munro  is  over 
high  ridges  and  deep  ravines.  The  country  here  (High- 
land County)  is  allowed  to  be  healthy,  but  a  dense  popu- 
lation must  be  accumulated  before  the  natural  obstacles 
to  communication  can  be  surmounted.  The  bridges  here, 
as  in  other  new  settlements,  are  nothing  more  than  two 
long  trees  thrown  over  the  stream,  about  eight  feet  apart, 
with  split  or  round  pieces  of  timber  laid  across  these,  side 
by  side.  In  the  case  of  a  deep  ravine,  the  road  is  directly 
down  the  bank  to  the  end  of  the  bridge, 

Sept.  29.  Greenfield  and  Old  town  are  two  small 
towns.  The  former  has  made  considerable  progress  of 
late.  The  woods  were  assuming  the  colours  of  autumn. 
This  change  was  accelerated  by  slight  frosts  which 
occurred  on  two  mornings,  about  the  time  of  the  equinox. 
The  sugar-maple,  the  dogwood,  and  the  beech,  were  the 
most  forward. 

I  remained  for  the  night  with  an  old  tavern-keeper,  who 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  303 

had  been  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  service.  He  is 
proprietor  of  a  good  farm,  which  is  occupied  by  his  son-in- 
law,  who,  last  year,  raised  nine  hundred  bushels,  includ- 
ing corn  and  wheat,  by  his  individual  exertions.  I  had 
previously  heard  of  a  negro  from  Kentucky,  who,  in  the 
same  year,  settled  on  a  prairie  near  Vincennes,  and  there 
raised  a  thousand  bushels  of  corn.  The  last  of  these 
quantities  may  be  assumed  as  a  full  maximum  of  the  pro- 
duce that  may  be  raised  by  one  man,  even  where  great 
fertility  of  soil,  industry,  and  health,  conspire  together. 
But  as  this  quantity  of  grain  would  now  sell  for  only  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  without  deducting  the  expense 
of  carrying  it  to  market,  or  allowing  any  thing  for  the 
provender  of  a  horse,  while  the  wages  of  a  labourer  may 
be  [277]  now  fairly  stated  at  three  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars for  a  year,  it  is  evident  that  farmers,  from  such  a  small 
return,  cannot  hire  the  labour  of  other  people. 

On  the  30th  I  crossed  the  Great  Sciota,  a  river  that  is 
great  indeed  in  times  of  wet  weather;  but  the  ford,  which 
is  at  the  head  of  a  stream,  was  not  then  more  than  eight 
or  nine  inches  deep.  The  river,  notwithstanding,  retains 
a  grandeur  that  is  not  unbecoming  its  name.  The  stream 
is  broad,  covering  nearly  the  whole  of  its  capacious  bed. 
The  water  is  limpid,  and  the  banks  are  covered  with  a 
growth  of  stupendous  sycamores  and  other  large  trees. 

Pickaway  Plains  consist  of  flat  land.151  The  clear  part 
is  a  prairie,  entirely  destitute  of  trees,  and  is  about  seven 
miles  long  and  five  broad.  To  a  European,  who  has  been 
upwards  of  two  years  immersed  in  the  woods,  such  a  clear 
space  is  truly  exhilarating.  It  was  while  proceeding  along 
a  fine  smooth  road,  at  a  brisk  trot,  that  I  suddenly  dis- 

*■  For  the  Pickaway  Plains,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our  series, 
note  143. —  Ed. 


304  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

covered  I  was  making  my  entree  into  the  plain. —  The  air 
was  still,  clear,  and  admitted  of  the  most  distinct  vision, 
so  that  I  could  see  a  distant  blue  ridge  of  high  land,  which 
I  supposed  to  be  in  Kentucky.  After  having  advanced 
about  half  a  mile  into  the  open  space,  I  observed  a  long 
cloud  of  dust  over  the  road.  The  fore  part  of  this  train 
seemed  at  my  horse's  feet,  and  under  my  vehicle,  and  the 
other  end  of  it  was  in  that  part  of  the  wood  from  whence 
I  emerged.  Possibly  a  native  of  the  American  woods 
might  be  more  surprised  on  his  first  entering  a  prairie 
than  I  was,  but  I  have  a  doubt  whether  his  sensations 
would  be  as  pleasant  as  mine  were. 

The  soil  is  of  a  dark  coloured  earth,  apparently  mixed 
with  a  large  portion  of  vegetable  matter,  and  [278]  lies  on 
a  gravelly  subsoil.  When  extremely  rich  lands  are 
spoken  of  in  this  part  of  the  country,  they  are  apt  to  be 
compared  with  Pickaway.  The  inhabitants  of  the  plain 
are  occasionally  visited  by  agues. 

I  believe  that  I  have  not  heretofore  mentioned  any  par- 
ticulars respecting  the  dust  of  the  roads  of  this  country. 
The  clothes  of  travellers  are  frequently  covered  with  it, 
and  it  passes  through  the  smallest  crevices,  into  trunks 
and  packing  boxes.  This  may  probably  arise  from  the 
heat  of  the  climate,  which  dries  the  mud  very  much,  or 
from  the  fine  division  of  the  earthy  particles,  and  perhaps 
from  the  abundance  of  vegetable  matters  intermixed. 

I  lodged  at  a  tavern  about  two  miles  west  of  New  Lan- 
caster. The  landlord  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  this 
neighbourhood  about  twenty  years  ago.  The  site  of  the 
house  in  which  he  now  lives,  is  the  third  that  he  has 
cleared  of  the  timber  with  his  own  hands,  since  his  arrival. 
His  buildings  and  farm,  by  their  neatness,  bespeak  his  in- 
dustry, and  he  seems  to  enjoy  the  comforts  of  affluence  as 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  305 

the  reward  of  his  labours.  In  the  neighbourhood  of  this 
place  are  some  high  ridges  of  a  coarse-grained  sand-stone, 
with  some  small  pine  trees  on  their  summits.  The  lower 
lands  are  rich.  The  landlord  showed  me  a  pumpkin 
that  weighed  a  hundred  and  sixty  pounds. 

Monday ',  Oct.  2.  On  the  morning  of  this  day,  and  on 
the  afternoon  of  the  30th  ultimo,  I  passed  through  several 
low  prairies  of  small  size;  the  soil  is  of  a  black  vegetable 
matter,  that  is  somewhat  bituminous,  and  appears  to  be 
imperfectly  decomposed.  Some  chinks  of  two  or  three 
inches  wide,  that  are  to  be  seen  in  the  surface,  show,  that 
at  other  seasons  of  the  year,  this  ground  is  wet.  Except 
for  the  heat  of  the  climate,  it  is  probable  that  [279]  these 
prairies  would  have  been  mosses  similar  to  the  peat  earth 
of  Europe. 

New  Lancaster  is  a  county  town,152  with  a  court-house 
and  a  bank.  The  situation  is  pleasant,  and  the  town 
contains  some  good  brick  houses.  Neatness  and  com- 
fort are  apparent  there. 

Lebanon  is  a  small  place,  situated  on  high  ground.  It 
is  entirely  built  of  wood.  Several  persons  affirmed  to  me, 
that  the  ague  is  not  prevalent  in  this  place. 

Newark153  is  a  county  town  of  a  pleasant  aspect. 
Some  parts  of  the  lands  adjoining  are  moist,  and  naturally 
fitted  for  being  converted  into  meadows.  Good  iron  is 
made  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  sold  at  four  cents  per 
pound.  There  was  a  young  man  in  the  tavern  there,  who 
said,  that  he  had  come  directly  from  Philadelphia,  and 
that  he  had  seen  a  considerable  number  of  families  on 

•P  For  the  early  history  of  Lancaster,  see  Cuming's  Tour,  volume  iv  of  our 
series,  note  145. —  Ed. 

m  Newark  was  settled  and  laid  out  in  1802  by  William  Schenck,  of  Newark, 
New  Jersey.  In  the  fall  of  that  year  a  considerable  colony  came  from  Penn- 
sylrania.    It  was  incorporated  in  1826. —  Ed. 


306  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

their  journey  to  the  eastward,  after  finding  themselves 
dissatisfied  with  their  prospects  in  the  western  country. 

On  the  evening  of  the  2d  and  on  the  3d,  much  rain  fell. 
On  the  4th,  I  resumed  my  journey. —  I  observed  much 
land  well  adapted  for  meadow,  and  a  few  small  patches 
actually  occupied  in  that  way;  and  noticed  that  the  ground 
in  general  yields  more  grass,  and  has  preserved  its  verdure 
better  than  that  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  State.  I  halted 
for  the  night  at  Mount  Vernon,154  which  is  another  county 
town,  and  the  place  of  the  Owl  Creek  Bank,  well  known 
among  the  paper  manufactories  of  this  country. 

Owl  Creek  is  one  of  the  head  waters  of  Muskingum 
River,  and  is  a  copious  stream  of  clear  water.  It  is 
crossed  by  a  large  wooden  bridge,  and  turns  an  extensive 
mill,  which  is  in  sight  of  the  road. 

[280]  On  the  5th,  I  travelled  over  some  high,  rugged 
land,  where  chesnut  trees  are  numerous  and  of  a  large 
size.  The  presence  of  this  kind  of  timber,  is  understood 
to  be  an  indication  of  the  poverty  of  the  soil  on  which  it 
grows;  but  it  is  valued  principally  on  account  of  its  resist- 
ing the  effects  of  the  weather  for  a  great  length  of  time. 
In  the  afternoon  a  heavy  shower  of  rain  fell,  which  obliged 
me  to  stop  at  a  tavern  at  the  Clear  Fork,  which  is  only 
fifteen  miles  from  Mount  Vernon. 

The  Clear  Fork  is  another  head  branch  of  Muskingum 
River,  and  has  a  plentiful  run  of  water.  It  seems  that 
the  river  Ohio  derives  the  greater  part  of  its  waters,  in 
dry  seasons,  from  the  springs  which  rise  in  the  high  lands 
at  a  considerable  distance  from  it.  I  have,  at  various 
times,  observed  that  most  of  the  streams  that  originate 


1M  Mt.  Vernon,  the  seat  of  Knox  County,  was  laid  out  in  1805,  and  named 
after  Washington's  home  on  the  Potomac,  its  early  settlers  having  come  from 
Virginia  and  Maryland. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  307 

in  the  lower  country  are  either  entirely  dried  up,  or  are  very 
small  runs  in  summer,  while  the  tributaries  in  the  higher 
parts  of  the  country  run  copiously.  This  fact  is  corrob- 
orated by  the  present  superior  verdure  of  the  high  coun- 
try, in  showing,  that  the  quantity  of  rain  is  greater  than 
in  the  lower  parts.  A  lower  temperature,  and  the  inter- 
mixture of  breezes  from  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Ohio,  with  those  from  the  lakes  and  the  river  St. 
Lawrence,  are  to  be  inferred  as  the  most  probable  causes. 

Oct.  6.  Between  the  Clear  Fork  and  Mansfield  (9J 
miles)  the  ground  is  hilly,  and  part  of  it,  like  that  travelled 
over  on  the  5th,  abounding  with  chesnut  trees.  Except 
for  the  strength  and  spirit  of  my  horse,  I  had  not  suc- 
ceeded in  carrying  my  baggage  over  this  rugged  part  of 
the  country.  The  roads  are  not  laid  out  under  proper 
supervision,  but  pass  over  steep  land,  or  round  the  fences 
of  inclosed  fields,  at  the  will  of  interested  persons.  [281] 
They  calculate  badly,  however,  who  disregard  utility. 

Mansfield  is  another  county  town,155  and  is  favoured 
as  the  seat  of  a  bank.  I  lodged  at  Trucksville,  a  new 
town,  consisting  of  about  half  a  dozen  of  frame-houses. 
The  lands  of  the  neighbourhood  appeared  excellent. 

On  the  7th,  I  passed  through  a  part  of  the  country 
with  a  surface  which  is  gently  undulated.  The  little  in- 
tervales seem  to  be  nearly  horizontal  in  their  bottoms. 
This,  with  the  woods  that  obstruct  the  view  everywhere, 
imposes  the  aspect  of  a  low  flat  country,  an  illusion  that 
I  could  only  dispel  by  recollecting  that  throughout  my 
journey  I  had  travelled  in  a  direction  contrary  to  the 
motion  of  the  rivers,  and  by  observing  that  the  waters 

186  James  Hedges,  a  government  surveyor,  laid  out  the  town  of  Mansfield  in 
1808,  naming  it  in  honor  of  Colonel  Jared  Mansfield,  surveyor-general  of  the 
United  States.    In  1820  it  contained  about  250  inhabitants. —  Ed. 


308  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

run  in  different  directions,  part  towards  the  Ohio,  and 
part  towards  Lake  Erie. 

It  might  be  difficult  to  form  a  conception  of  any  topo- 
graphical inquiry  more  interesting  to  the  State  of  Ohio,  and 
some  other  parts,  than  the  structure  and  conditions  of 
the  high  grounds  which  separate  between  the  waters  of 
the  river  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie.  It  remains  to  be  ascer- 
tained, whether  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  can  be 
found  for  supplying  the  summit  level  of  the  contemplated 
canal  between  the  river  and  the  lake,  and  through  what 
point  in  the  ridge  the  lowest,  or  otherwise  most  eligible 
line  may  be  drawn.  When  the  first  of  these  questions  is 
solved,  it  will  be  easy  to  say  whether  New  Orleans  or  New 
York  will  be  the  future  emporium  of  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. I  believe  the  only  specific  information  on  the  sub- 
ject, that  has  been  published,  is  in  a  paper  by  Governor 
Brown,156  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  who  has  repeatedly  recom- 
mended that  the  legislature  should  pass  an  act  for  causing 
the  necessary  surveys  to  be  made,  [282]  but  without  effect. 
It  is  curious  that  it  was  the  legislature  of  the  same  State 
(Ohio)  that,  a  few  years  ago,  made  an  overture  to  the  Con- 
gress, for  ascertaining  whether  it  is  practicable  to  make 
a  canal  between  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

The  country  between  New  Lancaster  and  the  heads  of 
the  waters  that  fall  into  Lake  Erie  (about  a  hundred 
miles)  is  high,  fertile,  well  watered,  and  comparatively 
exempt  from  the  endemical  sicknesses  which  annoy  the 
inhabitants  of  lower  lands. 

The  country  over  which  I  travelled  on  the  8th,  is  inter- 
mixed with  flat  lands.  The  great  holes  and  ruts  in  the 
roads  showed  that  they  are  occasionally  drenched  with 

18e  Ethan  Allen  Brown  was  elected  governor  of  Ohio  in  1818.  He  resigned 
his  office  to  accept  a  seat  in  the  United  States  senate. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  309 

water.  If  my  olfactory  organs  did  not  deceive  me,  the 
air  was  somewhat  tainted. 

At  Munro,  a  small  branch  of  Huron  River,  I  had  some 
difficulty  in  procuring  breakfast.  All  the  family  in  the 
tavern  were  either  sick,  or  so  much  emaciated  by  recent 
disease,  that  they  were  scarcely  able  to  do  any  thing. 
Every  person  in  the  town,  old  and  young,  had  been 
attacked,  two  individuals  being  only  excepted.  For  two 
years  past,  the  place  has  been  more  unhealthy  than  for- 
merly; and  the  people  believe  that  the  change  has  been 
occasioned  by  the  erection  of  a  mill-dam  in  the  creek. 
The  surmise  is  probably  just,  as  the  dam  is  now  dry,  and 
both  the  mud  and  vegetable  matters  are  exposed  to  the 
heat  and  consequent  decomposition,  evolving  hydrogen 
gas,  which  is  understood  to  be  deleterious. 

At  the  distance  of  about  fourteen  miles  from  Portland, 
the  road  enters  the  great  prairie  that  stretches  along  the 
south  side  of  the  lake.  It  is  covered  with  coarse  grass,  of 
a  luxuriant  growth,  and  an  immense  variety  of  weeds. 
Some  slight  eminences  are  wooded,  and  resemble  islands 
or  [283]  peninsulas  in  the  plain.  In  passing  along,  I  per- 
ceived openings  which  seemed  to  extend  to  the  distance 
of  twelve  or  fourteen  miles. 

For  several  miles  the  road  is  over  a  ridge,  sixty  or  eighty 
feet  in  breadth,  about  eight  feet  higher  than  the  plain, 
and  five  or  six  feet  higher  than  the  flat  ground  immedi- 
ately to  the  southward.  This  ridge  or  step  runs  in  a  wind- 
ing line,  forming  a  convexity  towards  the  lake,  where  it 
crosses  the  higher  parts  of  the  prairie,  and  recedes  tb  the 
southward,  forming  a  concave  curve  round  hollows  in  the 
ground,  thus  preserving  a  horizontal  position.  A  doubt 
of  this  having  been  once  the  margin  of  the  lake  can 
scarcely  be  entertained. 


3 1  o  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

The  ridge  just  mentioned  is  dry  and  of  a  gravelly  soil. 
It  is  preferred  by  the  settlers  for  the  sites  of  their  houses. 
Some  patches  of  the  prairie  are  inclosed  by  worm  fences, 
and  produce  large  crops  of  maize.  Cattle  range  in  the 
prairies,  and  are  larger  and  fatter  than  those  reared  by  the 
Ohio  River.  A  few  stacks  of  coarse  natural  hay  stand  on 
the  ground  that  produced  them. 

Bloomingtown  is  a  town  consisting  of  about  ten  houses, 
and  is  situated  on  a  sandy  eminence  in  the  edge  of  the 
prairie :  —  a  small  place,  but  deserving  of  notice  from  its 
abortive  Bank.  A  company  was  formed,  plates  engraved, 
and  the  bank  notes  brought  to  the  spot.  At  the  time 
when  this  happened,  the  people  had  just  become  jealous 
of  unchartered  banks.  The  company  applied  to  the 
Legislature  of  the  State  for  a  charter,  which  was  refused. 
The  bankers  not  venturing  to  sign  the  pictures,  but  un- 
willing to  lose  the  expense  of  manufacturing  them,  sold 
them  by  auction.  They  were  afterwards  subscribed  by 
a  fictitious  president  and  cashier,  and  fraudulently  put 
into  circulation. 

[284]  Near  the  lake  the  shell  limestone  appears.  This 
seems  to  be  the  base  on  which  the  strata  of  the  higher 
country  rests.  The  higher  country,  near  Pittsburg,  the 
Muskingum,  and  Sciota  rivers,  the  Silver-Creek  hills, 
and  the  high  land,  over  which  I  have  recently  come,  has 
strata  of  sandstone,  slate-clay,  bituminous  shale,  and,  in 
various  places,  coal. 

Portland  is  a  town  situated  on  the  shore  of  the  inden- 
ture in  the  south-western  extremity  of  Lake  Erie,  called 
Sandusky  Bay.157  It  is  only  three  years  since  it  was 
founded,  and  contains  thirty  dwelling  houses,  four  ware- 

157  For  the  early  history  of  Portland,  see  Buttrick's  Voyages,  volume  viii  of 
our  series,  note  34. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint  \r  Letters  from  America  311 

houses,  and  has  four  temporary  wharfs.  At  present  the 
trade  is  in  salt,  brought  from  Onondago  in  New  York 
State,  and  in  imported  goods.  There  is  a  boat  at  one 
of  the  wharfs,  which  carries  ten  and  a  half  tons;  it  was 
built  in  Connecticut,  and  was  carried  by  land  over  several 
portages  in  the  way;  and  I  have  been  told  that  there  is  a 
vessel  of  fifty  feet  keel  on  the  lake,  that  was  carried  over 
the  same  obstructions,  which  lie  between  Hudson  River 
and  Lake  Erie.  A  steam-boat  which  sails  between 
Detroit  and  Buffalo  touches  at  this  place. 

Portland  has  had  a  share  of  the  sickness  of  the  season,  a 
number  of  persons  being  now  confined  to  bed,  and  many 
meagre  convalescents  are  to  be  seen  walking  about  the 
street.  In  addition  to  the  fevers  and  the  ague,  so  preva- 
lent, some  have  been  afflicted  by  an  influenza,  and  are 
wearing  shades  over  their  faces  on  account  of  sore  eyes. 

Venice  is  another  new  town,  which  stands  about  three 
miles  farther  west  the  bay.  It  has  more  houses  than 
Portland,  but  has  now  only  one  family  in  it,  a  mortal  sick- 
ness having  carried  off  a  considerable  part  of  the  popula- 
tion, which  caused  the  survivors  to  desert  the  place.  The 
bay  no  doubt  contributes  [285]  to  disease,  as  the  water  is 
shallow,  and  out  of  the  course  of  the  principal  current 
of  the  lake,  and  produces  grasses  and  confervae  that  are 
washed  ashore  in  times  of  wind,  and  emit  a  disagreeable 
effluvia. 

Although  I  have  been  in  the  country  possessed  by  the 
Indians  during  the  two  last  days  of  my  journey,  I  did 
not  happen  to  see  any  of  these  people  by  the  way.  Since 
coming  to  Portland,  I  have  seen  a  few  of  them  in  town. 
One  party  had  brought  for  sale  a  few  pots  of  honey,  which 
they  had  taken  out  of  hollow  trees,  and  some  mats,  fabri- 
cated from  dyed  rushes,  which  were  beautifully  divided 


312  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

into  compartments  of  different  colours.  Most  of  them 
were  clothed  with  a  piece  of  blanket  wrapped  round  them, 
and  with  leather  mocasins,  or  shoes,  on  their  feet,  and  the 
habiliments  of  others  approached  very  near  to  the  form 
of  clothing  worn  by  civilized  people.  Some  of  the  men 
are  sprightly  and  well  formed  in  their  persons,  displaying 
an  energy  and  frankness  in  their  countenances  which  indi- 
cate the  absence  of  suspicion  and  fear. 

My  journey  has  been,  on  the  whole,  more  pleasant  than 
I  could  have  anticipated.  The  principal  obstructions  in 
the  way  were  the  stumps  and  roots  of  trees,  which  obliged 
me  to  drive  with  much  caution,  and  often  restricted  my 
horse  to  a  walk.  At  taverns  I  sometimes  found  that  the 
landlord  was  from  home,  and  that  no  hostler  was  kept, 
and  found  it  necessary  to  feed  and  water  my  horse,  and  to 
yoke  or  unyoke  as  occasion  required;  but  every  landlord 
that  I  met  with  acted  in  an  obliging  manner,  and  of  some 
of  them  I  conceived  the  most  favourable  opinion. 

In  the  last  hundred  and  fifty  miles  which  I  travelled,  I 
met  with  few  travellers,  but  several  [286]  of  these  few  were 
well  dressed  and  polite  men.  I  have  also  seen  some  ele- 
gant ladies  by  the  way.  Indeed,  I  have  often  seen  among 
the  inhabitants  of  the  log-houses  of  America,  females  with 
dresses  composed  of  the  muslins  of  Britain,  the  silks  of 
India,  and  the  crapes  of  China.  During  the  journey  just 
detailed,  I  must  confess  that  I  never  saw  a  people  more 
exclusively  devoted  to  agriculture,  and  proportionally 
fewer  idle  men  lounging  in  taverns,  than  I  did  in  the  more 
populous  parts  of  the  country.  The  most  disagreeable 
quality  that  I  discovered,  was  the  inquisitive  dispositions 
of  some  of  them. —  "What  are  you  loaded  with?"  was 
reiterated  almost  every  day;  and,  "Where  are  you  going? 
Where  are  you  come  from  ?  Are  you  pedling  ?  Is  it  goods 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  313 

or  plunder  that  you  have  got  ?"  158  were  also  questions 
asked.  In  justice  to  them,  I  must  say,  that  they  do  not 
seem  to  be  sensible  of  the  indecorum  of  such  conduct; 
and  I  believe  that  when  similar  interrogations  are  put  to 
them,  they  answer  without  hesitation. 

[287]  LETTER  XXIV15* 

Passage  on  Lake  Erie  —  Presque  Isle  —  Buffalo  —  The 
Falls  of  Niagara  —  Kingston  —  Youngstown  —  Newark 
—  Passage  on  Lake  Ontario  —  Scotch  Settlement  in 
Upper  Canada  —  Descend  the  River  St.  Lawrence  — 
Thousand  Islands  —  Brokeville  —  Prescott  —  Ogdens- 
burgh  —  Rapids  —  St.  Regis  —  Lake  St.  Francis  — 
Falls  —  Cotu-du-Lac  —  The  Cedar  Falls  and  Village  — 
Lake  St.  Louis  —  La  Chine  —  Cachnewaga  —  Mon- 
treal—  Passage  down  the  St.  Lawrence  —  Sorel  — 
Lake  St.  Peter's  —  Trois  Rivieres  —  Settlements  in 
Lower  Canada  —  The  Falls  of  Richelieu  —  Quebec  — 
Heights  of  Abraham — Lorete — Indians — Remarks  on 
the  People  — Lumber  Trade  —  Government  —  Climate. 

Quebec,  Nov.  9,  1820. 
Since  writing  my  last  letter  to  you  I  have  removed  from 
the  head  of  Lake  Erie  to  this  place  —  a  very  considerable 
distance ;  but  as  I  proceeded  most  of  the  way  by  water,  I 
had  very  little  communication  with  the  shore,  and  very 
scanty  means  of  making  myself  acquainted  with  the 
country.160 

168  Plunder  is  a  cant  term  used  in  the  western  country,  signifying  travelling 
baggage. —  Flint. 

159  For  notes  on  the  following  persons  and  places  mentioned  in  this  chapter, 
see  Croghan's  Journals,  volume  i  of  our  series:  Presque  Isle,  note  62.  J.  Long's 
Travels,  volume  ii  of  our  series:  Fort  Niagara,  note  19;  Ogdensburg,  note  15; 
Cedars,  note  27;  La  Chine,  note  34;  Caughnawaga,  note  9;  Trois  Rivieres, 
note  8;  Lorette,  note  92. —  Ed. 

160  Flint's  route  from  Ohio  to  Quebec  was  by  way  of  Buffalo,  Niagara  Falls, 
Kingston,  and  Montreal. —  Ed. 


314  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

On  the  14th  I  went  on  board  the  American  steam-boat 
Walk-in-the-Watery  a  fine  vessel  of  330  tons  burden,  with 
two  masts,  and  rigged,  for  taking  advantage  of  the  winds 
in  the  manner  of  sea-craft.161  The  interior  of  this  vessel 
is  elegant,  and  the  entertainment  is  luxurious.  There 
were  twelve  cabin  passengers  of  genteel  appearance  and 
polite  manners,  and  about  an  equal  number  of  persons  in 
the  steerage;  the  whole  indicating  a  degree  [288]  of  inter- 
course and  refinement  which  I  did  not  expect  to  see  on 
Lake  Erie.  The  southern  bank  only  was  in  sight.  It  is 
low,  and  many  cleared  patches  were  to  be  seen  at  intervals 
amongst  the  woods.  Probably  the  time  is  not  far  distant 
when  the  anticipation  of  Campbell  will  be  realized, 

'  •  There  shall  the  flocks  on  thymy  pasture  stray, 
And  shepherds  dance  at  summer's  op'ning  day; 
Each  wand'ring  genius  of  the  lonely  glen 
Shall  start  to  view  the  glittering  haunts  of  men." 

There  are  numerous  islands  in  the  lake,  which  are  all 
covered  with  a  growth  of  timber,  and  were  then  beauti- 
fully variegated  with  the  tints  of  the  season.  These  are 
the  islands  in  which  rattle-snakes  and  other  reptiles  are 
said  to  be  so  numerous  that  it  is  dangerous  to  land  on 
them. 

During  the  afternoon,  and  a  part  of  the  night,  we 
experienced  the  most  severe  gale  that  our  mariners  had 
felt  on  the  lake.  The  swell  rose  to  a  great  height,  and 
occasionally  immersed  one  of  the  wheels  deeply,  while  the 
other  was  almost  entirely  out  of  the  water,  causing  the 
vessel  to  heave  and  flounce  very  disagreeably.  Most  of 
the  passengers  were  affected  by  the  same  kind  of  sickness, 
similar  to  that  which  prevails  at  sea. 

181  This  first  steamboat  on  Lake  Erie  was  launched  at  Black  Rock  (now 
Buffalo),  May  28,  1818.  It  was  named  from  a  Wyandot  chieftain,  and  in  182 1 
was  lost  in  a  storm. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  315 

Nov.  15.  We  continued  in  sight  of  the  United  States 
side  of  the  lake,  but  without  enjoying  a  single  peep  of  the 
Canadian  shore.  The  summit  of  the  country  between  the 
lake  and  the  Ohio  was  in  sight.  It  is  high  land,  but 
what  may  be  called  a  flat  ridge  of  the  most  evenly  contour, 
without  any  pointed  hills  or  conspicuous  prominences. 
Land  birds  perched  on  the  rigging.  The  water  appeared 
to  be  green,  showing  that  its  depth  is  considerable.  In 
some  parts  it  has  been  sounded  and  found  to  be  thirty-five 
fathoms  deep.  Altogether,  [289]  the  lake  presents  much 
of  the  phenomena  of  the  ocean. 

Erie,  formerly  called  Presque  Isle,  is  a  small  town. 
Before  this  place,  the  British  squadron  captured  during 
the  late  war,  is  sunk  for  preservation.  Some  of  our  people 
who  went  ashore  here,  were  told  that  a  schooner  with  eight 
men  was  lost  in  the  storm  of  the  preceding  night. 

The  numbers  of  water-fowl  seen  in  the  lake  is  truly 
astonishing.  These  migrate  to  the  southward  in  the 
winter. 

Late  on  the  evening  of  the  16th,  we  anchored  off  Buffalo, 
and  on  the  morning  of  the  1 7th  dropped  two  miles  down 
the  river,  to  Black  Rock. 

Buffalo  is  a  thriving  town  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
Coaches  pass  from  thence  to  Albany,  which  is  on  the  route 
to  the  city  of  New  York.  When  the  great  canal  between 
Hudson  River  and  New  York  is  completed,  Buffalo  must 
become  a  place  of  considerable  importance.182 

The  New  York  canal  is  a  work  not  only  interesting  to 
a  large  portion  of  the  United  States,  but  also  to  Upper 
Canada.  Already  ninety  miles  of  the  line  is  completed 
and  in  operation,  and  the  continuance  of  the  present  exer- 

m  The  Erie  Canal  was  begun  at  Rome,  New  York,  July  4,  1817,  being  com- 
pleted in  eight  years. —  Ed. 


3 1 6  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

tions  must  in  a  short  time  finish  the  whole.  Should  the 
government  of  Britain  continue  to  neglect  the  improve- 
ment of  the  inland  navigation  of  Canada,  and  persist  in 
excluding  the  colonies  from  the  advantages  of  a  free  trade, 
and  give  their  grain  a  nominal  preference  in  the  British 
market,  while  that  market  is  in  reality  shut  against  it,  a 
new  interest  must  arise  in  the  upper  province.  England 
may  still  give  Canadian  lands  gratis,  and  garrison  the 
frontier  posts  with  an  idle  soldiery,  but  she  cannot  shut 
the  eyes  of  her  subjects  against  the  facilities  to  be  derived 
[290]  from  an  uninterrupted  navigation  to  the  port  of 
New  York,  which  is  free  to  the  flags  of  all  nations,  and  open 
to  the  sea  at  every  season  of  the  year. 

Opposite  to  Buffalo  is  Port  Erie,  on  the  Canadian  side 
of  the  river, —  pleasant  situation,  but  apparently  without 
any  thing  like  the  bustle  that  animates  the  southern  shore. 

At  Black  Rock,  the  river  Niagara  is  about  a  mile  in 
breadth,  and  runs  at  the  rate  of  eight  knots  per  minute,  and 
its  greatest  depth  is  said  to  be  about  ten  fathoms.183  The 
lake,  forming  an  extensive  reservoir,  greatly  equalizes  the 
discharge  of  water,  particularly  as  this  river  is  without  the 
floods  that  characterize  most  other  streams. 

One  of  the  passengers  on  board  the  steam-boat,  a  Cap- 
tain of  the  United  States  army,  on  his  way  to  Fort  Niagara, 
agreed  to  travel  along  with  me.  We  hired  a  two-horse 
waggon  to  carry  ourselves  and  baggage.  The  actual  port- 
age to  the  falls  of  Niagara  is  only  seven  miles;  but  as  we 
found  that  there  was  no  boat  in  readiness  to  sail  from  Black 
Rock,  we  resolved  to  proceed  the  whole  way  by  land, 
which  is  thirty-four  miles.    The  gentleman  with  whom  I 

1W  Morse  has  stated  the  average  depth  at  this  place  (the  ferry)  to  be  twenty- 
five  feet.  According  to  him,  its  average  rapidity  from  thence  to  Chipeway  is  six 
miles  an  hour,  and  that  at  the  ferry  it  is  much  greater. —  Flint. 

Comment  by  Ed.    Jedidiah  Morse,  American  Gazetteer  (Boston,  1797). 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  317 

travelled  was  on  his  return  from  Green  Bay,  an  inlet  of 
Lake  Michigan,  where  he  had  gone  with  some  soldiers  who 
were  banished  to  that  place.  Green  Bay  is  a  place  of 
exile,  so  far  removed  from  the  other  settlements  of  the 
United  States,  that  culprits  have  it  not  in  their  power  to 
escape  from  thence. 

Our  journey  down  the  southern  bank  of  the  river  was 
extremely  pleasant.  The  banks  are  low  [291]  and  verdant 
to  the  water's  edge,  and  the  margin,  in  most  parts,  forming 
fine  curves,  smooth  as  if  finished  by  art.  The  islands  are 
also  low  and  covered  with  luxuriant  timber.  It  is  the  ex- 
tent of  water-prospect,  bounded  in  every  direction  by 
woods,  that  constitutes  the  grandeur  of  this  part.  At  the 
lower  extremity  of  Grand  Island,  the  sheet  of  water  seems 
to  be  about  three  miles  broad.  The  soil  is  good,  and 
yields  better  pasturage  and  hay  than  the  lands  of  the  more 
southern  parts  of  the  continent.  A  happy  compensation 
for  the  severity  of  the  northern  winter. 

On  approaching  within  two  or  three  miles  of  the  falls,  a 
cloud  of  spray  is  to  be  seen  rising  600  or  700  feet  into  the 
air.  At  that  distance,  the  noise  of  the  waters  has  some- 
thing like  the  effect  of  a  strong  wind  among  the  trees  of  a 
forest. 

Immediately  above  the  precipice,  there  is  an  island  beau- 
tifully wooded,  with  a  mixture  of  white  cedars  and  other 
ever-green  trees,  which  divides  the  river  into  two  unequal 
parts,  leaving  the  principal  channel  toward  the  Canadian 
shore.  The  head  of  this  island,  and  the  beach  of  the 
United  States  side  of  the  river,  are  connected  by  a  rude 
wooden  bridge,  which  must  have  been  constructed  with 
great  difficulty,  as  the  bottom  is  of  rock,  and  the  water 
runs  with  great  velocity.  On  both  sides  of  the  island  the 
declivity  is  great,  and  the  furious  stream  is  broken  at 


31 8  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

intervals  by  falling  over  shelving  rocks.  The  division  of 
the  rapids  toward  the  Canadian  side,  would  have  been 
remarked  as  highly  interesting,  had  it  been  situated  some- 
where else  than  immediately  adjoining  to  the  great  falls  of 
Niagara. 

The  stranger,  on  arriving  at  the  point  of  land  close  at 
the  head  of  the  cataract,  and  that  juts  over  [292]  the  tre- 
mendous abyss,  is  in  a  moment  arrested  by  the  awful 
grandeur  of  the  scene,  or  if  he  is  at  all  inclined  to  motion, 
it  is  to  recede  from  the  precipice.  The  sight  of  an  immense 
volume  of  water  poured  over  a  perpendicular  cliff,  situated 
almost  under  his  feet,1"  into  the  chasm  below,  and  the 
thundering  noise,  are  calculated  to  excite  a  degree  of 
astonishment  that  borders  on  dismay. 

The  part  of  the  river  which  passes  between  the  island 
and  the  south-easterly  shore,  falls  over  the  abrupt  edge  of 
a  precipice  that  has  a  few  small  gaps  in  it;  the  water  dis- 
charged is  necessarily  deep  in  these,  and  forms  green  col- 
umns, which  descend  twenty  or  thirty  feet  before  they 
assume  the  whiteness  that  is  uniform  over  other  parts  of 
the  sheet  that  here  spends  its  fury  on  a  heap  of  large  blocks 
which  have  been  undermined  and  detached  from  the  rocks 
above.  A  vast  body  of  dense  spray  deflected  from  those 
large  masses  of  stone,  flies  off  horizontally,  and  in  every 
other  direction,  and  completely  obscures  the  bottom  of 
the  fall,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  chasm  adjoining. 

The  chasm,  from  the  falls  downward,  is  bounded  on 
both  sides  by  perpendicular  cliffs.  After  descending 
seventy  or  eighty  feet  by  a  wooden  stair,  the  way  to  the 
water's  edge  is  down  a  steep  footslope,  amongst  large 

m  The  height  of  the  division  of  the  falls  that  lies  between  the  island  and  the 
south-east  shore  has  been  formerly  estimated  at  160  feet.  I  have  been  told 
that  a  measurement  made  last  summer  has  determined  it  to  be  162  feet. —  Flint. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  319 

blocks  of  stone,  and  small  trees  of  white  cedar  which  line 
the  banks,  and  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  this  grand 
ravine. 

A  small  skiff  is  kept  for  the  convenience  of  those  who 
would  have  a  view  of  the  falls  from  below.  Sailing  here 
sometimes  exposes  the  traveller  to  [293]  have  his  clothes 
wet  from  the  falling  vapours,  the  waters  being  so  much 
agitated;  but  as  the  commotion  is  nothing  more  than  the 
heavings  of  an  eddy  that  comes  into  contact  with  the 
stream,  no  danger  whatever  is  to  be  apprehended,  and 
I  am  apt  to  believe  that  few  visitors  will  forego  the  pleasure 
of  crossing  at  this  place. 

It  was  not  till  I  got  afloat  on  the  river  that  I  obtained  a 
comprehensive  view  of  the  whole  cataract.  The  part  be- 
tween the  island  and  the  north-western  shore,  forms  a 
hollow  curve  that  is  called  the  Horse-shoe  Bend.  It  is  in 
the  inmost  recess  of  this  bay  that  the  greatest  quantity  of 
water  is  precipitated,  and  from  this  part  the  most  deep- 
toned  sounds  seemed  to  proceed.  The  great  body  of  water 
which  dashes  from  the  summit  of  the  Horse-shoe  Bend, 
is  evidenced  by  the  majestic  curve  that  the  liquid  forms, 
where  it  rolls  over  the  top  of  the  rock,  and  by  the  green 
colour  that  it  retains  till  the  vast  column  is  concealed  by 
the  waters  which  rise  in  revulsion  from  the  vortex  below. 
It  is  also  over  the  Horse-shoe  Bend,  that  the  vapour  as- 
cends in  the  thickest  cloud,  and  to  the  greatest  height. 

On  the  margin  of  the  river,  I  observed  some  logs  of 
timber,  that  had  been  put  ashore  by  the  eddy.  They 
were  large  round  trees,  which  appeared  to  have  been  cut 
across  at  the  lengths  of  twelve  and  sixteen  feet,  such  as  are 
cut  into  boards  at  saw-mills.  Several  of  them  were  split 
asunder  throughout  their  whole  length.  Others  of  them 
had  some  of  the  annular  layers  of  the  timber  peeled  off, 


320  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

and  the  remaining  surfaces  bruised  and  marked,  as  if  they 
had  been  beat  all  over  with  a  weighty  hammer  or  a  blunt 
axe.  The  ends  of  the  logs  were  round,  somewhat  resem- 
bling a  parabolic  figure. 

[294]  The  ascent  of  the  northern  bank,  is  performed  by 
climbing  the  steep  foot-slope  by  a  rugged  path  that  winds 
amongst  large  stones,  and  ultimately  surmounting  the 
cliff  by  a  wooden  stair; —  a  fatiguing  task,  but  one  which 
is  amply  repaid  by  the  commanding  situation  of  the  high 
ground  on  the  Canadian  side.  As  the  cascade  runs  ob- 
liquely across  the  river,  and  exposes  the  concavity  to  the 
northward,  the  spectator  is  here,  as  it  were,  placed  a  little 
beyond  the  focus  of  the  grandest  amphitheatre.  It  is  also 
in  his  power  to  approach  close  to  the  extremity  of  the  pitch, 
and  overlook  the  smoking  Horse-shoe  Bend,  and  peer 
down  on  the  awful  but  indescribable  convulsions  that  agi- 
tate the  foaming  bay. 

The  falls  of  Niagara  are  much  visited  by  strangers,  as 
during  our  short  stay  there  we  met  with  several  persons 
who  were  examining  them.  There  is  a  large  tavern  on 
each  side  of  the  river,  and  in  the  album  kept  at  one  of 
these,  I  observed  that  upwards  of  a  hundred  folio  pages 
had  been  written  with  names  within  five  months. 

Immediately  before  reaching  Kingston,  we  descended 
a  steep  ridge  or  step  in  the  country.  Opposite  to  this 
place  is  Queenstown,  on  the  Canadian  side  of  the  river. 
Both  these  towns  are  at  the  lower  end  of  the  portage  of 
Niagara.  The  chasm  through  which  the  river  runs  from 
the  falls  to  this  place,  renders  it  highly  probable  that  the 
cataract  once  poured  itself  over  the  ridge  just  noticed, 
and  that  it  has  subsequently  made  its  progress  upward  to  its 
present  place.  It  would  be  interesting  to  ascertain  the 
relative  levels  of  the  ridge  above  Kingston,  and  the  old 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  321 

beach  of  Lake  Erie,  that  has  been  observed  in  the  great 
prairie. 

Late  in  the  evening  we  stopped  at  Youngstown,  a  small 
village  near  the  confluence  of  the  river  [295]  Niagara  with 
Lake  Ontario.  At  this  place  I  heard  the  noise  of  the  falls, 
which  were  eighteen  miles  distant. 

On  the  1 8th,  I  crossed  the  river  to  the  town  of  Niagara, 
now  called  Newark.  On  the  United  States  side  of  the 
mouth  of  the  river  stands  the  old  fort  Niagara;  on  the 
Canadian  side  is  Fort  George,  of  later  erection.  The  18th 
was  a  day  of  much  parade  there;  the  governor  of  the  upper 
province  being  engaged  in  reviewing  the  troops  of  the  gar- 
rison. 

The  banks  of  the  river  Niagara  are,  at  its  mouth,  about 
sixty  feet  high,  and  the  ground  in  the  neighbourhood  forms 
a  delightful  plain,  but  the  people  are  said  to  be  much 
afflicted  with  ague,  a  complaint  common  to  both  sides  of 
the  river. 

In  the  afternoon  I  went  on  board  a  large  steam-boat, 
called  Fronteniac,  which  then  sailed  for  Kingston.  Toward 
evening  we  saw  the  spray  over  the  falls  of  Niagara.  It 
did  not  then  appear  to  be  a  blue  smoky-coloured,  and 
almost  transparent  vapour,  as  when  I  was  near  it  on  the 
1 8th,  but  a  dark-coloured  dense  cloud.  This  fact  agrees 
well  with  the  opinion  that  asserts  the  vesicular  formation 
of  clouds,  and  with  the  observation  familiar  to  every  one, 
that  clouds  appear  to  be  dark-coloured  and  opaque  at  a 
distance,  and  that  when  they  actually  approach  and  fall 
in  the  form  of  rain,  their  dark  colour  and  opacity  disap- 
pear. 

The  waters  of  Lake  Ontario  indicate  great  depth  by 
their  dark  green  colour.  It  is  reported  that  a  line  of  350 
fathoms  has  been  let  down  in  various  parts  without  find- 


322  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ing  a  bottom.185  The  islands  are  low,  and  covered  with 
small  timber,  and  the  shores  rocky.  Salmon  abound  in 
the  lake,  and  in  some  of  its  tributary  streams. 

[296]  19th.  Arrived  at  Kingston,  which  is  situated  at 
the  north-eastern  extremity  of  Lake  Ontario.  This  place 
contains  about  3000  people,  and  is  the  largest  town  in 
Upper  Canada.  It  was  here  that  the  warships  which 
navigated  the  lake  during  the  late  war  were  built,  and 
several  vessels  of  a  larger  size  than  any  on  the  ocean,  are 
still  on  the  stocks.  An  island  before  Kingston,  appears  to 
be  strongly  fortified. 

To  the  north  of  Kingston,  and  towards  the  Utawas 
[Ottawa]  or  Grand  River,  is  the  new  town  of  Perth,  and 
the  settlement  of  a  considerable  body  of  Scots  who  emi- 
grated in  181 5.  One  of  these  people,  who  was  on  board 
the  steam-boat,  told  me  that  the  settlers  had  succeeded 
well;  and  a  gentleman  who  lives  in  their  neighbourhood 
assured  me,  that  they  have  already  attained  to  a  more 
comfortable  style  of  living  than  the  French  in  the  older 
settlements  of  the  lower  province. 

On  the  20th  I  sailed  in  a  steam-boat  for  Prescott,  which 
is  seventy  miles  down  the  river.  In  immediate  continu- 
ation with  the  eastern  extremity  is  an  expansion  of  the 
river  St.  Lawrence,  which  is  called  the  lake  of  the  thousand 
islands,  from  the  great  number  of  small  islands  it  con- 
tains. These  are  rocky,  and  covered  over  with  small  pine 
trees,  forming  a  romantic  labyrinth,  in  which  it  is  not 
always  easy  to  discriminate  between  islands  and  the  main 
land.  Markings  on  the  rocks  show,  that  the  waters  rise 
occasionally  to  the  height  of  four  feet,  but  these  slight 
floods  must  be  occasioned  by  winds,  rather  than  the  imme- 
diate effect  of  rainy  weather. 

165  Lake  Ontario  averages  six  hundred  feet  in  depth. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  323 

Brokeville  is  a  new  town  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 
The  name  is  in  honour  of  the  British  General  Broke  who 
fell  in  the  late  war.166  The  houses  [297]  are  chiefly  of 
stone,  and  have  a  neat  appearance.  In  consequence  of 
the  settlements  forming  to  the  northward,  Brokeville  is 
of  some  importance  as  a  landing  place,  and  in  its  trade. 

Prescott  is  a  considerable  town,  with  a  small  fort  on 
the  Canadian  side  of  the  river.  It  is  a  curious  fact,  that 
the  thriving  town  of  Ogdensburg,  on  the  United  States 
shore,  is  directly  opposite,  and  though  within  the  range  of 
British  cannon,  is  without  defensive  works,  and  without 
a  garrison. 

There  being  a  number  of  rapids  in  the  river  between 
Prescott  and  Montreal,  the  intermediate  navigation  is 
performed  by  small  flat-bottomed  vessels,  called  Durham 
boats,  which  carry  about  three  hundred  barrels  of  flour 
each.  These  boats  have  no  other  decks  than  narrow  foot- 
ways round  the  gunwales,  leaving  the  middle  space  open, 
where  the  cargo  is  piled  up. 

On  the  21st  I  left  Prescott  in  a  Durham  boat,187  in  which 
there  were  three  passengers  besides  myself.  Two  of  these 
were  Americans  from  Arkansaw  river,  on  their  way  for 
Quebec,  a  journey  of  2100  miles,  and  the  other  an  English- 
man, who  had  gone  out  to  see  the  lands  in  Upper  Canada, 
and  was  on  his  return  to  England,  where  he  intends  to 
give  up  a  small  farm  that  he  holds  in  lease,  and  remove 
his  family  to  the  back  woods  near  Kingston.    From  hear- 

1M  For  an  account  of  General  Isaac  Brock,  see  Buttrick's  Voyages,  volume 
viii  of  our  series,  note  6. —  Ed. 

1,7  Durham  boats  were  heavy  freight  craft  built  along  the  lines  of  an  Indian 
canoe.  Their  designer  (about  1750)  was  Robert  Durham,  manager  and  engi- 
neer of  the  Durham  furnace,  Bucks  County,  Pennsylvania.  The  ordinary  Dur- 
ham boat  was  sixty  feet  long,  eight  feet  wide,  and  two  feet  deep.  When  laden 
with  fifteen  tons,  it  drew  twenty  inches  of  water. —  Ed. 


3  24  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

ing  the  swearing  and  rude  conversation  of  the  boat's 
crew,  I  concluded  that  they  were  persons  of  the  lowest 
character. 

The  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  appear  green,  on  account 
of  the  great  depth  of  the  river,  but  when  taken  up  in  a 
vessel,  they  seem  perfectly  transparent.  The  islands  be- 
low Prescott  are  of  a  rich  soil,  and,  like  the  banks  on 
both  sides  of  the  river,  are  low,  and  covered  with  grass 
almost  to  the  margin  of  the  water.  We  passed  over  four 
rapids  on  [298]  the  21st,  viz.  the  Rifts  le  Galete,  the  Flat 
Rifts,  the  Long  Falls,  and  the  Maligne  Rifts.  All  these 
run  with  great  velocity;  and  at  the  lower  end  of  each, 
where  the  stream  rushes  into  waters  that  run  on  a  lesser 
declivity,  a  great  swell  or  heaving  motion  is  produced. 
We  stopped  for  the  night  at  Cornwall,  a  considerable 
village  on  the  Canadian  shore.  I  was  there  told  the  river 
opposite  to  that  place  is  so  deep,  that  when  the  people 
attempted  to  drag  it  in  search  of  the  body  of  a  man  who 
had  been  drowned,  the  bottom  was  not  felt. 

On  the  2  2d  we  passed  St.  Regis,  an  Indian  town,  which 
is  built  with  stone.  Below  this  place,  the  boundary  line 
which  separates  the  United  States  from  Canada  leaves 
the  river.  Lake  St.  Francis  is  an  expansion  of  the  river 
that  is  about  thirty  miles  long,  and  from  four  to  six  miles 
broad.  The  banks  are  low,  and  the  declivity  of  the  neigh- 
bouring lands  is  very  moderate.  To  the  south-east,  a 
number  of  high  mountains  in  New  York  State  are  to  be 
seen.  Their  distance  from  the  river  seems  to  be  about 
thirty  miles,  and  they  are  covered  with  trees  to  their 
summits. 

On  the  northern  bank  of  Lake  St.  Francis,  is  a  settle- 
ment of  Canadian  French.  It  extends  to  the  length  of 
seven  or  eight  miles,  and  is  only  about  one  mile  broad. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  325 

The  farms  are  said  to  consist  of  one  hundred  acres  each, 
and  as  they  extend  from  the  lake  back  to  the  woods,  they 
are  long  narrow  stripes  of  land,  each  having  the  dwelling- 
house,  barn,  &c.  almost  close  to  the  bank.  The  houses 
are  white-washed,  and  externally  very  neat.  Their  being 
almost  completely  uniform  in  size  and  appearance,  might 
cause  any  stranger  to  believe  that  their  owners  are  nearly 
on  a  parity  in  wealth. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  lake  are  the  falls  of  St.  Francis. 
These  are  furious  rapids,  and  a  canal  [299]  for  avoid- 
ing them  has  been  cut  at  the  village  Cotu  du  Lac,  but  as 
the  cut  is  not  deep  enough,  the  work  is  of  very  little  use. 
Of  the  falls  of  St.  Lawrence  river,  it  may  be  remarked 
generally,  that  as  there  are  no  high  floods,  and  as  the 
banks  are  low,  there  can  be  no  great  difficulty  in  improv- 
ing the  navigation.  There  is  a  very  small  Fort  at  the  Co- 
tu  du  Lac,  which  is  garrisoned  by  about  half  a  dozen  of 
soldiers. 

On  the  23d  we  took  in  a  pilot,  who  conducted  us  over 
the  Cedar  Rifts,  the  Thicket  Falls,  and  Le  Trou  Falls. 
The  former  of  these  rapids  runs  with  tremendous  fury. 
The  two  latter  canals  are  cut,  but,  like  that  at  the  Cotu  du 
Lac,  they  are  too  shallow  to  admit  loaded  boats.  The 
Cedar  village  is  most  delightfully  situated  on  the  north  side 
of  the  river. 

The  Utawas,  or  Grand  river,  forms  the  division  line 
between  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  and  falls  into  the  St. 
Lawrence  by  two  mouths,  one  above  and  the  other  below 
the  island  of  Montreal.  The  great  magnitude  of  the 
former  river  is  manifested  by  the  dark  colour  of  its  waters, 
which  are  sufficient  to  give  a  tinge  to  the  Lake  St.  Louis, 
in  which  the  two  rivers  meet.  On  this  lake  a  new  steam- 
boat has  lately  begun  to  ply. 


326  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

La  Chine  is  a  small  town  on  the  Island  Montreal,  and 
at  the  head  of  the  falls  of  St.  Louis.  In  consequence  of 
this  interruption  to  the  navigation,  La  Chine  is  at  the 
head  of  a  portage  over  which  a  great  portion  of  the  pro- 
duce and  goods  that  pass  upward  of  Montreal  are  carried. 
The  inhabitants  of  this  place  are  Canadian  French,  many 
of  whom  are  employed  as  carters  between  the  landing 
place  and  the  city,  which  is  about  seven  miles  distant. 
Cachnewaga,  on  the  opposite  side  of  [300]  the  river,  is 
an  Indian  town,  built  of  stone,  and  of  a  neat  appear- 
ance. 

On  the  24th  I  proceeded  by  land  to  Montreal.  The  soil 
in  that  part  is  good,  and  well  adapted  to  pasturage.  I 
observed  some  farms  that  are  occupied  by  Scotsmen,  and 
cultivated  in  a  neater  style  than  any  thing  of  the  kind 
that  I  have  ever  seen  in  America.  Several  iron  ploughs 
which  were  made  at  Uddingstone,  on  the  Clyde,  were 
lying  by  the  side  of  the  road.  The  horses  are  small, 
but  elegantly  formed  and  hardy. 

The  language  in  most  common  use  here  is  the  French. 
People  of  every  possible  shade  of  colour,  between  the 
French  complexion  and  the  copper  colour  of  the  Indian, 
are  to  be  heard  conversing  in  that  tongue. 

The  suburbs  of  Montreal  are  composed  of  narrow  dirty 
streets.  The  houses  are  of  stone,  plastered  over  with 
lime.  A  few  private  houses,  and  the  court-house  and 
jail,  are  built  of  hewed  stone.  The  roofs  of  many  of  the 
houses  are  covered  with  small  plates  of  tinned  iron,  which 
preserves  its  metallic  lustre  well,  and  produces  a  disagree- 
able glare  during  sunshine.  In  the  end  of  the  market 
place,  is  a  monument  in  memory  of  Lord  Nelson.  It  is 
a  Doric  column,  with  a  plaster  bust  of  the  hero  on  the 
top,  and  some  naval  figures  in  relief  upon  the  pedestal. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  327 

This  compound  substance  is  already  yielding  to  the 
weather,  and  probably  will  not  long  resist  the  effects  of 
this  rigorous  climate.  To  the  north  of  the  town,  there 
is  a  hill  covered  with  timber,  which  contributes  much 
toward  giving  the  place  a  picturesque  appearance.  In 
the  neighbourhood  there  are  a  few  neat  villas,  and  many 
luxuriant  orchards.  In  the  streets  people  are  to  be  seen 
driving  small  carts  drawn  by  dogs;  [301]  they  are  usually 
loaded  with  sticks,  ashes,  and  other  light  articles.  Mont- 
real has  a  great  trade,  being  the  emporium  of  the  upper 
country,  and  the  residence  of  the  principal  agents  of  the 
North  West  Company.  The  port  is  accessible  to  large 
ships  from  the  ocean,  but  is  not  a  tenable  harbour  in  the 
winter,  on  account  of  its  being  exposed  to  the  breaking 
up  of  the  ice.  Montreal  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  upper 
district  of  Lower  Canada.  The  court  is  composed  of  a 
chief  justice,  and  three  puisne  judges.  There  is  in  the 
city,  a  barrack  occupied  by  a  small  body  of  troops.  A 
square  in  the  form  of  a  terrace,  called  the  Place  d 'Arms ; 
for  the  exercising  of  soldiers;  a  college,  and  a  convent, 
where  a  considerable  number  of  nuns  are  kept.  The 
clergy  of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  retain  the  tithes 
of  the  island. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  25  th  I  sailed  in  a  steam- 
boat for  Quebec.  There  are  now  twelve  large  vessels  of 
this  kind  which  ply  between  Montreal  and  that  place,  and 
one  that  crosses  between  La  Prairie  and  Montreal. 

The  steam-boats,  on  their  passage  between  Montreal 
and  Quebec,  touch  at  the  town  of  Sorel,  at  the  mouth  of 
Sorel  river.  Sorel  is  a  small  town,  and  its  principal  busi- 
ness is  ship-building.  It  was  formerly  called  Fort  William 
Henry,  known  as  the  place  of  the  earliest  settlement  of 
Europeans  in  North  America,  and  as  the  scene  of  the 


328  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

cruel  massacre  committed  by  the  Indians  under  the 
French  General  Montcalm,  in  1757.168 

The  Lake  St.  Peter's  is  another  expansion  of  the  river, 
about  twenty  miles  long  and  fifteen  broad.  The  great 
lakes  in  the  upper  country,  and  the  smaller  ones  in  the 
course  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  have  the  effect  of  equalizing 
the  stream,  and  prevent  [302]  inundations,  which  are  very 
injurious  to  the  neighbourhood  of  most  large  rivers. 

In  the  afternoon,  the  vessel  was  anchored  in  conse- 
quence of  a  contrary  wind,  which  was  accompanied  with  a 
fall  of  snow,  the  first  that  had  occurred  during  the  season. 
The  town  Trots  Rivieres,  (Three  Rivers,)  then  in  our  sight, 
is  a  large  place,  and  is  the  seat  of  justice  for  one  of  the 
three  districts  of  Lower  Canada.  Most  of  the  inhabi- 
tants here,  as  in  the  other  parts  of  the  lower  province,  are 
Canadian  French.  The  houses  are  covered  with  tinned 
iron. 

On  both  sides  of  the  river,  a  row  of  farm  houses,  placed 
at  very  short  intervals,  stretches  along  almost  without 
interruption.  These  houses  are  white- washed,  and  have 
throughout  a  degree  of  similarity  in  size  and  appearance 
which  I  have  not  observed  in  any  other  part  except  the 
banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  These  houses  are  white- 
washed, and  have  each  a  barn  and  other  inferior  houses 
attached.  As  the  grain  is  housed,  and  the  barns  seem 
to  be  of  no  great  dimensions,  it  is  a  proof  that  the  crops 
are  certainly  small.  In  viewing  these  ranges  of  farming 
establishments  obliquely,  the  whole  has  the  aspect  of  a 
continued  village  on  both  sides,  with  churches  at  very 

188  Flint  seems  here  to  have  obtained  his  facts  from  a  typical  guide-book.  Fort 
William  Henry,  the  scene  of  the  massacre,  stood  at  the  head  of  Lake  George ; 
Montcalm  captured  it  in  1757,  and  spread  terror  to  Albany,  and  even  as  far  as 
New  York.  Many  of  the  prisoners  of  war  were  massacred  by  Indians,  over 
whom  the  French  claimed  to  have  had  little  or  no  control. —  Ed. 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  329 

short  distances  from  one  another.  Were  it  not  for  seeing 
the  uncleared  woods,  which  are  in  most  parts  only  about 
a  mile  from  the  river,  and  for  recollecting  that  the  number 
of  white  people  in  Lower  Canada  was,  a  few  years  ago, 
estimated  at  only  200,000,  I  should  have  been  induced  to 
believe  that  this  is  a  populous  country. 

On  the  26th  we  proceeded  downwards  with  a  fair  wind. 
The  tide  reaches  to  the  distance  of  about  sixty  miles 
above  Quebec.  We  descended  the  Falls  of  Richlieu,  by 
the  joint  action  of  wind,  tide,  steam,  and  the  stream,  at 
the  rate  of  fifteen  [303]  miles  an  hour.  These  falls  are 
furious  rapids  at  low  stages  of  the  tide,  but  in  times  of 
high  water  they  are  covered  up  and  smooth.  The  banks 
are  of  a  dark  coloured  schistous  substance,  very  steep,  and 
about  a  hundred  feet  high,  and  the  soil  inferior  to  that 
farther  up  the  river. 

On  approaching  Quebec,  I  was  shown  the  steep  recess 
of  the  rock  through  which  General  Wolf  conducted  his 
army  on  the  night  previous  to  his  memorable  victory. — 
This  narrow  defile  retains  the  name  of  Wolfe's  Cove. 

The  first  sight  of  Quebec  that  is  obtained  in  descending 
the  river,  is  imposing;  the  shipping  viewed  in  the  direction 
of  the  line  that  it  forms  along  the  wharfs,  has  something 
like  the  appearance  of  a  thick  forest  of  deadened  pine- 
trees,  and  the  dark-coloured  rock,  which  rises  almost  from 
the  water's  edge,  towers  high  in  air.  An  angle  of  the 
fort  that  stands  on  the  edge  of  the  precipice,  and  a  stone 
tower  and  a  signal-post  that  occupy  a  still  higher  summit 
in  the  rear,  are  the  most  prominent  objects.  On  advan- 
cing farther,  it  is  discovered  that  the  low  ground  below 
widens  to  the  westward,  and  is  occupied  by  a  part  of  the 
lower  town,  and  a  considerable  extent  of  the  circumvalla- 
tion  that  occupies  the  top  of  the  cleft,  and  incloses  the 


33°  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  9 

castle  of  St.  Louis,  and  some  other  high  buildings.  The 
situation  and  aspect  of  the  castle  of  St.  Louis,  (the  resi- 
dence of  the  governor,)  reminds  me  of  the  barracks  on 
the  west  side  of  the  castle  of  Edinburgh.  Indeed  the 
whole  of  the  northern  front  of  Quebec  has  a  general  re- 
semblance to  the  ancient  Scottish  fortress. 

Quebec  stands  on  a  point  of  land  formed  by  the  junc- 
tion of  the  rivers  St.  Lawrence,  and  is  divided  by  the 
cliffs  into  two  parts,  the  Lower  and  the  Upper  town.  The 
Lower  town,  adjoining  to  the  wharfs,  is  narrow  and  dirty, 
and  the  wharfs  are  [304]  disconnected  from  one  another 
by  the  intervention  of  houses.  The  Upper  town  is  inclosed 
within  the  fort,  and  is  much  better  built  and  more  clean 
than  the  lower  division  of  the  city.  The  whole  of  the 
works  occupy  ground  of  the  most  commanding  descrip- 
tion, and  are  well  furnished  with  the  apparatus  necessary 
for  defence. 

On  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  the  place  is  shown  where 
Wolfe  fell,  and,  till  lately,  the  granite  block  remained  on 
which  the  hero  expired.  There  are  some  fragments  still 
to  be  found,  lying  at  a  small  wooden  house  adjoining, 
which  will  probably  be  soon  broken  into  smaller  pieces 
and  carried  off  by  strangers. 

To  the  west  of  Quebec  is  Lorete,  an  Indian  town,  which 
is  built  of  stone;  and  the  neighbouring  fields  seem  to  be 
well  cultivated.  At  Point  Levi,  on  the  opposite  bank  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  a  tribe  of  Indians  encamp  occasionally 
for  the  purpose  of  trading.  It  is  curious  that  the  abo- 
rigines remain  so  long  amongst  the  thickest  settlements 
in  Lower  Canada,  while  in  other  parts  of  the  continent 
they  disappear  before  a  very  thin  population  of  whites. 
This  must  have  been  occasioned  by  the  French,  who  have 
at  all  times  ingratiated  themselves  with  the  natives,  and 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  331 

even  intermarried  with  them,  and  by  the  Indians  becoming 
proselytes  to  the  Roman  Catholic  religion. 

The  Canadian  French  are  universally  acknowledged  to 
be  true  Roman  Catholics,  strict  in  their  observance  of 
holidays,  submissive  to  the  exactions  of  their  priesthood, 
and  the  loyal  subjects  of  Britain.  They  seem  to  retain 
the  depressed  characters  of  a  conquered  people.  Their 
bow  is  low,  and  apparently  obsequious,  and  they  are 
usually  ready  to  make  out  of  the  way  of  any  one  who 
walks  rapidly  along  the  streets.  Many  of  [305]  them  are 
dirty  and  coarsely  clothed,  and  instead  of  buttoning  their 
coats,  they  tie  them  with  a  sort  of  sash  that  is  wrapped 
round  their  middle.  At  meals  each  produces  his  pocket 
knife,  the  same,  perhaps,  with  which  he  cuts  his  tobacco, 
and  spits  on  the  blade,  and  then  rubs  it  on  his  clothes 
previous  to  eating.  They  are  slovenly  agriculturists,  and 
use  the  most  wretched  implements,  and  yoke  their  oxen 
by  the  horns.  A  gentleman  told  me  that  he  lately  asked 
one  of  them,  why  they  did  not  yoke  these  animals  by  the 
shoulders  as  other  people  do  ?  The  other  replied  —  be- 
cause the  strength  of  the  head  would  be  lost.  It  is  not 
uncommon  to  see  the  Canadian  coming  into  market  with 
only  one  or  two  bushels  of  wheat.  Here,  as  at  Montreal, 
the  cruel  practice  of  causing  dogs  to  draw  carts,  prevails. 
On  seeing  a  young  man  riding  in  one  of  these  little  ve- 
hicles, and  whipping  the  docile  creature  till  it  lay  down 
and  turned  up  its  feet,  I  was  much  shocked  at  the  conduct 
of  the  wretch;  and,  though  you  may  not  altogether  approve 
of  the  principle,  I  felt  considerable  satisfaction  from  the 
circumstance,  that  the  profane  imprecations  which  he 
with  great  fluency  uttered,  were  not  pronounced  in  the 
English  language. 

Timber  is  the  principal  article  exported  here.    The 


3  3  2  Early  Western  Travels  [Vol.  o 

period  for  which  Canadian  timber  is  exempted  from  pay- 
ing duty  in  Britain,  is  about  to  expire,  and  a  fear  is 
entertained  that  a  tax  may  be  imposed  by  parliament  at 
their  next  session.  The  subject  excites  much  interest  at 
present,  and  in  the  event  of  a  timber  tax  being  enacted, 
it  may  operate  as  a  test  for  Canadian  loyalty. 

The  government  of  the  Canadas  consists  of  a  governor, 
a  legislative  council,  and  a  house  of  assembly  in  each 
province.  This  organization  is  vested  with  the  power  of 
making  such  laws  as  are  not  [306]  contrary  to  the  acts 
of  the  British  Parliament.  The  legislative  council  is 
summoned  by  the  governor,  under  the  authority  of  the 
king,  and  its  members  are  appointed  for  life.  The  assem- 
bly is  elected  by  freeholders,  whose  qualification  is  possess- 
ing landed  property  to  the  yearly  value  of  forty  shillings 
or  upwards;  or  possessing  a  dwelling  house  and  lot  of 
ground  in  towns  to  the  yearly  value  of  five  pounds,  or  pay- 
ing for  one  year,  at  least  a  rent  of  ten  pounds.  These 
assemblies  continue  for  four  years  at  most,  but  can  be 
dissolved  before  the  termination  of  the  full  period.  Que- 
bec is  the  seat  of  justice  for  the  lower  district  of  the  lower 
province.  The  court  consists  of  a  chief  justice  and  three 
puisne  judges,  and  public  business  is  conducted  by  a 
solicitor-general  and  an  attorney-general.  The  criminal 
laws  are  the  same  as  those  of  England,  but  in  civil  cases 
the  old  coutume  de  Paris  is  retained.  The  existence  of 
French  laws  in  the  lower  province  is  said  to  be  repulsive 
to  people  from  Britain,  and  is  probably  one  of  the  causes 
that  determines  many  of  them  on  settling  in  Upper  Can- 
ada. 

The  climate  of  Canada  varies  between  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold.  A  temperature  of  960  of  Fahrenheit's 
scale  has  been  observed  at  this  place  in  summer,  and  it  is 


1818-1820]       Flint's  Letters  from  America  333 

believed  that  mercury  has  been  frozen  by  the  cold  in 
winter.  I  am  not  able  to  judge  of  the  inconvenience 
which  attends  wintering  here,  but  the  inhabitants  look 
forward  to  that  season  as  the  gayest  of  the  year.  Most  of 
the  labours  without  doors  at  this  season  are  suspended, 
and  the  people  sally  forth  in  their  sledges  on  excursions 
of  pleasure,  or  in  visiting  their  friends.  The  deep  and 
long  continued  snows  in  this  country  protect  the  crops  of 
wheat  from  being  injured  by  the  frosts,  and  enable  the 
Canadians  to  drag  the  [307]  largest  trees  to  the  rivers,  a 
work  that  would  otherwise  be  difficult  in  the  woods,  where 
there  are  no  good  roads.  Just  now  the  ground  is  covered 
with  snow,  and  the  cold,  which  increases  daily,  shows  that 
winter  is  about  to  commence  in  earnest.  At  least  three- 
fourths  of  the  ships  that  were  here  a  week  ago  have  sailed 
down  the  river,  and  the  seamen  who  remain  in  port  are 
all  in  a  bustle,  preparing  for  going  to  sea.  Probably  by 
a  few  days  hence  there  will  not  be  a  ship  left. 


Important 
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Full  descriptive  circulars  will  be  mailed 
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*■  The  most  important  project  ever  undertaken  in  the  line  of  Philippine 
history  in  any  language,  above  all  the  English." — New  York  Evening  Post, 

The  Philippine  Islands 

1493-1898 

Being  the  history  of  the  Philippines 

from  their  discovery  to  the  present  time 

EXPLORATIONS  by  early  Navigators,  descriptions 
of  the  Islands  and  their  Peoples,  their  History,  and 
records  of  the  Catholic  Missions,  as  related  in  contempo- 
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economic,  commercial,  and  religious  conditions  of  those 
Islands  from  their  earliest  relations  with  European  Na- 
tions to  the  end  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

Translated,  and  edited  and  annotated  by  E.  H.  Blair  and 
J.  A.  Robertson,  with  introduction  and  additional  notes  by 
E.  G.  Bourne. 

With  Analytical  Index  and  Illustrations.  Limited  edition, 
55  volumes,  large  8vo,  cloth,  uncut,  gilt  top.  Price  #4.00 
net  per  volume. 

"  The  almost  total  lack  of  acceptable  material  on  Philippine  history 
in  English  gives  this  undertaking  an  immediate  value.* ' 

— James  A.  Le  Roy  in  American  Historical  Review, 

M  With  our  freshened  interest  in  the  Far  East,  American  readers  ought 
not  to  neglect  the  new  possessions  in  that  region  which  now  fly  the  Stars 
and  Stripes." —  Chicago  Evening  Post, 

€t  Now  at  least  there  should  be  no  difficulty  for  the  American  student 
to  gain  a  clear  view  of  the  difficulties  which  both  the  Spaniards  and  their 
successors  have  had  to  contend  with  in  these  islands,  when  they  have  this 
work  before  them,  and  have  not,  as  formerly,  to  obtain  information  from 
obscure  Spanish  sources,  in  a  language  hitherto  comparatively  little  studied 
in  the  United  States,  ....  welcome  to  all  students  of  the  Far  East." 

—  English  Historical  Review. 


"  Wc  cannot  thoroughly  understand  our  own  history,  local  or  National,  without  some  knowledge 
of  these  routes  of  trade  and  war."— The  Outlook. 

The  Historic  Highways  of  America 

by  Archer  Butler  Hulbert 

A  scries  of  monographs  on  the  History  of  America  as  portrayed  in  the  evo- 
lution of  its  highways  of  War,  Commerce,  and  Social  Expansion. 

Comprising  the  following  volumes : 

I — Paths  of  the  Mound-Building  Indians  and  Great  Game  Animals. 
II — Indian  Thoroughfares. 

Ill — Washington's  Road:  The  First  Chapter  of  the  Old  French  War. 
IV— Braddock's  Road. 
V— The  Old  Glade  (Forbes's)  Road. 
VI — Boone's  Wilderness  Road. 
VII — Portage  Paths:  The  Keys  of  the  Continent. 
VIII — Military  Roads  of  the  Mississippi  Basin. 
IX — Waterways  of  Westward  Expansion. 
X — The  Cumberland  Road. 
XI,  XII — Pioneer  Roads  of  America,  two  volumes. 
XIII,  XIV — The  Great  American  Canals,  two  volumes. 
XV— The  Future  of  Road- Making  in  America. 
XVI— Index. 

Sixteen  volumes,  crown  8vo,  cloth,  uncut,  gilt  tops.  A  limited  edition 
only  printed  direct  from  type,  and  the  type  distributed.  Each  volume  hand- 
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ted with  maps,  plates,  and  facsimiles. 

Published  a  volume  each  two  months,  beginning  September,  1902. 

Price,  volumes  1  and  2,  $2.00  net  each;  volumes  3  to  16, 352.50  net 
each. 

Fifty  sets  printed  on  large  paper,  each  numbered  and  signed  by  the 
author.  Bound  in  cloth,  with  paper  label,  uncut,  gilt  tops.  Price,  $5.00 
net  per  volume. 

"The  fruit  not  only  of  the  study  of  original  historical  sources  in  documents  found  here  and  in 
England,  but  of  patient  and  enthusiastic  topographical  studies,  in  the  course  of  which  every  foot  of 
these  old  historic  highways  has  been  traced  and  traversed."—  The  Living  Age. 

"The  volumes  already  issued  show  Mr.  Hulbert  to  be  an  earnest  and  enthusiastic  student,  and  a 
reliable  guide."— Out  West. 

"  A  look  through  these  volumes  shows  most  conclusively  that  a  new  source  of  history  is  being 
developed— a  source  which  deals  with  the  operation  of  the  most  effective  causes  influencing  human 
affairs."— Iowa  Journal  of  Histoty  and  Politics. 

"  The  successive  volumes  in  the  series  may  certainly  be  awaited  with  great  interest,  for  they 
promise  to  deal  with  the  most  romantic  phases  of  the  awakening  of  America  at  the  dawn  of  occi- 
dental civilization."— Boston  Transcript. 

**  The  publishers  have  done  their  part  toward  putting  forth  with  proper  dignity  this  important 
work.  It  is  issued  on  handsome  paper  and  is  illustrated  with  many  maps,  diagrams,  and  old 
prints."—  Chicago  Evening  Post. 


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